A Lord & His Lady
by briesfiction
Summary: After the final battle Draco returns to his family and the Death Eaters. He discovers that there is a road set before him that he's not sure he's prepared to travel. But with a young woman whose destiny his has intertwined with, he sets out to embrace it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**_: I don't think I really need this, because it's pretty much stating the obvious, but all characters (except my original ones) belong to J.K. Rowling and whoever else is on the HP payroll. Thank you. =)_

_One_

It was a declaration made because The Dark Lord was getting worried. Even with Dumbledore gone, there was still a worry settling in him. And so he called a meeting. Two would be missing, he was sure. Severus Snape, although held in great esteem for killing the old man, knew that this was young Malfoy's task to fulfill. As for young Malfoy… he was an enigma indeed.

The Dark Lord had known since his return and laying eyes on the boy he had not seen since his Commencement Ceremony as an infant, that if anything had happened to him again, he would be the one to lead. His father was a good candidate too, but Lucius' age-old pride and manners that the boy hadn't yet grown into would stifle him. The boy was the same age Voldemort was himself when he became the Dark Lord, he saw a lot of himself in Draco. He had ordered him to kill Dumbledore as a test. The results were what he had expected, what he had hoped for. A failure.

When he himself was in school and hated the old man just as well as Draco had, he could never bring himself to vanquish Dumbledore either. There was too much respect, too much knowledge of what a great man he was, and despite the way Voldemort did loathe him then. The Dark Lord could see into Draco's thoughts, the same could be said for him. And that is what would make him the next great Dark Lord. As for Snape, Voldemort had long known of the traitor he was, but he still had a great role to fill before he should be done away with. Time, he told himself, time will do away with Snape just as it had been doing away with him for many, many years now.

They were appearing now, one after another in their cloaks and masks, in a circle around his great throne room. As he had predicted, two spots were left empty. Silence filled the room and after a long time of it the men began turning to look at each other questionably, wondering why their Lord was not speaking.

"Hoods down and masks off, Death Eaters." They did so, still looking confused. "Tonight, we talk as men. As equals." The Dark Lord stepped off his throne and down to the circle, Lucius on his right and Nott on his left. "And that includes me."

Chairs appeared behind each of them. "Sit," but Bellatrix remained.

"I don't under---"

"I said sit, Bellatrix." She narrowed her eyes and sat down as well.

"Death is not a pretty thing, and yet we hand it out like flyers promoting the work we do," he began. "Avery," he said.

"Yes, master?"

"Do you fear death?"

"I--- yes, master, of course."

"Why? Why do you fear something you give so easily to others? Is it because you see the fear in their own eyes, when you are about to take everything away from them?"

"I suppose, my lord."

"Lilly and James Potter died, protecting their child, trying to salvage their future. And it was not fear I saw in their eyes for themselves, but for that. The future." He paused and stood up, walking around the back of the chair, and placing his hand on the back of the chair. "When I made those Horcruxes so many years ago, I will not deny that there still was an unease in me. No one can ever be completely assured for his or her future. I had built a group of men and women I could not be more proud of, who have always been at my side and heeding to my command when they should be. I worried for what would happen would they not have a leader though. At first, I thought about just picking one of you to take over for me, in the case that something would happen. But then this was still a fairly young organization, I was afraid there would be an upset or power struggle of some sort and that the unity we had found here would disappear. Well, I decided that I surely wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and so another idea came to me, an idea Odessa gave to me."

Everyone looked to Bourne Avery now, out of concern. Odessa Avery was his older sister, and once upon a time, was the Dark Lord's mistress. Bourne just looked to the ground, everyone else was shocked. The Dark Lord had not said her name since after he killed her. She and the Dark Lord had left on a several month trip together to see the world some year before the murder of the Potters. When they were due to return, the Dark Lord returned alone. He said he was betrayed, and he produced the killing curse upon her. And that was all anyone ever knew. It was then the Prophecy came out and both that and his anger sent him into his whirlwind of murdering the newborn children.

"A son,' she said," he continued. "I'll give you a son, Tom, and then you will have an heir, someone to take over the family business', she had said. It seemed such a perfect idea, that I agreed. And Odessa and I began trying for a child."

The room stayed quiet, all eyes locked on him with mixed emotions, as he spoke of the woman they all once knew and most loved. Odessa was the sweetheart of the group, much like Narcissa was now. She believed in the pureblood lineage too, but it was known, just as Narcissa and Lucius did today, that Odessa and the Dark Lord had fought about the right and wrong of what he was doing. Odessa didn't always approve, which is why everyone believed him when he said she had betrayed him.

"When we left for our trip, Odessa was four months along with a child. We wanted to away together, to have our son and spend some time as a… as a family, before announcing the birth of your future Lord to all of you. But one cold night in Greece, Odessa went into labor and I delivered to her, not a son, but a daughter."

He scanned the room for reaction, everyone starred wide-eyed. Narcissa gasped, and the anguish in Avery's eyes was obvious to everyone. "I was so angry. 'This is not the future Dark Lord!' I thought. 'This is a little girl. A female who could never continue my work.' At this time, I thought females weak. As you can all recall, the woman who sit in this room now as equals, were not even permitted at meetings during this time." He breathed in heavily. "I was so distraught that Odessa had not given me the son she promised to me, something that I know now was not her fault, that I strangled her… Odessa's life was taken, literally, at my hands. I thought I should tell you all this now, for there is much---"

A loud roar came from Bourne Avery and with a bound he leapt across at the Dark Lord. Quickly other Death Eaters moved to restrain him. "You bastard! You son of a bitch! You took away my best friend!" Bourne cried out in pain, tears flowing down his cheeks. He had long held it in, but this was too much for him.

"Hold him there, gentlemen." Lucius, and Marcus and Vincent Crabbe had his arms and wand. "I will continue,"

He looked around the room again and sat back down. "When I saw her lying there in a clump, I looked to the child wrapped in its swaddler, tossed to the side of the bedroom. She wasn't crying, I thought perhaps I had… But I went to her and pulled her out of her blankets, and she was beautiful." Narcissa smiled slightly and covered her mouth. She had been telling Lucius for years since Odessa had gone that what the Dark Lord needed was a child. This news, despite the death of Odessa, was bringing her relief. The Dark Lord noticed her smile and she quickly regained a blank expression.

He went on, "I held her and I kneeled beside Odessa and bellowed for what I had done to her. I knew the instant I looked into the child's blue eyes that I had made a terrible mistake. But I knew I could not raise her as my own. Before I returned to all of you, I made a decision to find a home for our daughter, another family to take her. But my predicament was large. I did not want to give her to any of you to raise, it would be too hard to watch my daughter grow up so near to me and never have her know. I couldn't give her to another family to raise, wizard blood or otherwise because I was terrified that with everyone else against us, that in all of our raids on families, that one day one of you, or even I, would murder my own daughter and not even know it. I didn't know what else to do, I was an orphan too when I was young, so I took her one night to the orphanage that I knew my whole youth, and was about to set her down at the front gate, when I heard someone coming up behind me." He paused a long while and his eyes darted away as he recalled the story he was about to tell for the first time.

"Tom,' he said. 'You hated this place, why would you bring your own daughter to live here?' I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. I couldn't bear to look at him anyways. 'I didn't know where else to take her,' I said. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned around and collapsed at his feet. You must understand, Death Eaters, I was a wreck. This man was the very man who came for me when I was eleven and took me away from my hellhole. He did the only good thing anyone has ever done for me, brought me to this world. That man was Albus Dumbledore."

Gasps and whispers erupted from the whole circle. He let them quiet themselves before continuing. "And there I found myself, groveling helplessly at the feet of a man I could not stand, and yet a man who gave me the tools to become what I am today. 'I came for you, Tom. Do you think I won't come for her in eleven years, as well?' he had said to me. I knew what he was getting at, my friends. So I gave my child to him to raise."

Now there was uproar amongst all the Death Eaters, some were standing up, some were outraged, and Avery was crying even harder muttering 'Thank the Gods,' under his breath.

"I know you may think now that it was not a wise choice to have made. Why would I hand my child over to my greatest enemy? Because I knew that Dumbledore would be the one person whose home I would never invade, who try as I may, would never die at my hands, or even when ordered to, at the hands of my followers. We may all hate him, but we cannot deny that he is a great wizard. Who better to raise my child than the only other wizard than myself who I deemed even half worthy?"

They all quieted and thought this over, when a voice rang out. "Now that Dumbledore is gone, who is looking after the child?"

"Good question, McNair. You see, when Snape began working for me as a double agent, he informed me a while after that Dumbledore had a grand-daughter who lived with him in his home away from Hogwarts, but even the Hogwarts' staff does not know where it is that Dumbledore resides when school is not in session. Snape says that the Floo line in the Headmaster's room goes directly to his office, and to this other home, where he teaches the child on his own. Now that Snape has been made Headmaster, he will have direct access to Dumbledore's home. He asked me what should be done with the child, I told him to check-in on the girl from time to time. I did not ask about the whereabouts of the place and I do not intend to, you see, Death Eaters, I have something very important to tell you." Everyone looked to him, waiting for what other stories the Dark Lord may have to confide in him. "Severus Snape is a traitor. And I have known this for well over three years now."

Eyes widened but no one said anything. Everyone felt afraid to. Some had long suspected, others were shocked, but all remained silent.

Finally, Lucius spoke up. "Then why did you let him live all this time?"

"Because, my dearest friend, I knew that his two-sided ways would soon come of great benefit to me somehow. And now it has. Your son, Lucius, is afraid to come back to me because he is afraid I will have him murdered for failing to kill Albus Dumbledore himself. Severus is acting as if he had nothing to do with the runaway and disappearance of your son, but I know exactly where he is. And I have no intention of harming him when I find him. Severus sent him through the Floo, to Dumbledore's home. Even Severus, while Dumbledore did confide much in him, does not know that the girl is my daughter, and he believes it is of no interest to me, so he has sent Draco there, to hide."

"How did you come about this information, my Lord?" Narcissa asked.

"On occasion I receive visions at night, of my daughter. And what she sees, and sometimes I am able to get inside her head and see all that she can, it is my way of checking-in I suppose you could say. But I never let her know I am there. Recently, Narcissa, I have seen your son in these visions. He is staying in one of Dumbledore's many guest rooms. They have become friends. He is the only other wizard her own age she has ever met. She seems to think… very highly of him. You see, she believes that his parents are Death Eaters and that as part of his 'initiation' he was being made to kill Dumbledore. She believes that he didn't want to, that he thought Dumbledore was a good person, and didn't want to be a Death Eater. Details based only somewhat on fact, for I can see in Draco's head, and believe me, I let him know I am there, and I know that he feels he has let us down. He wants to be a part of this with us, and he is angry with Snape for killing Dumbledore because he really did want to, he was just 'hesitating'. At least, that is what he is trying to convince himself went wrong. He doesn't realize yet that he has the same issues that I had about killing Albus Dumbledore, good person or not, he is a great wizard."

"It is this that I came to tell you. That I have found the boy, and my daughter, and that they are being kept together. I cannot yet make out where, try as I might, it is much too far away. But if I tell Severus that I wish to know the whereabouts of Dumbledore's home, then he may send Draco somewhere else. And I want him to stay right where he is. You see, my Death Eaters, many years ago when I gave my daughter away I never thought about the possibility of keeping her to raise and giving her away in another sense… Why would she herself have to be the Dark Lord? Couldn't she just be the spouse of the next Dark Lord, and their children, and so on? Could that be another way perhaps to ensure that we are keeping it in the family? And bless all you one day, that your sons or daughters and grandsons and daughters may get to rule or be his next Ladyship one day?" Excited voices and animate tones sprung up amongst the Death Eaters as they all discussed this possibility. "Quiet!" He said.

"I must preserve my future, our future, our LEGACY." He said the last word with a thunderous boom. He gestured to the throne behind him. "I may not always have a place there." He paused, approached the throne, and swept his hand over the arm and another just like it appeared to the right of it. The tension in the air was thick.

He waved his hand in the air once more. And a bottle of champagne appeared in his arm, and full glasses in front of all the persons in the room but four, Bourne Avery, The Malfoy's and himself. He waved his hand again and four flute glasses appeared. He took only one, though, drew his wand and went to Avery, who was still being restrained. And poured him a glass. "Drink, Avery."

Avery's arm was released and he drank the champagne, staring up at the Dark Lord over his glass all the while. When he finished with a gulp, Voldemort pressed his wand against Avery's temple and leaned in towards him as all the others watched and listened closely. "Now, Bourne Avery, I am going to ask you one more time. Do you fear death?" Avery cringed and closed his eyes.

"Yes, My Lord. Yes." Avery opened his eyes. "Please---"

"Good," the Dark Lord said, stepping back. "You should." He turned away from Avery, who sighed in relief, and then wheeled around on him. "AVADA KEDAVRA"

And Bourne Avery slumped to the chair; the glass flute hitting the cold floor below him had shattered. It was all that could be heard.

"Pity," Voldemort said. "It was such a nice set." He looked up to Lucius. "Take your places, men." They all returned to their seats, but before Lucius sat, "Not you, Lucius. You can stay standing." He looked to Narcissa, who looked worried. "You as well, Narcissa." She stood beside her husband, gripping his arm in fear.

"Lucius, you know you are my most faithful, my dearest friend." He grabbed the other three flutes, and handed one each to them. "Narcissa, you are a good woman. Who else could raise a son better suited for my daughter, or better prepare a son for the ways of the Death Eaters? You are of the thickest lineage here, and one of the proudest families. And you should be." He filled both their flutes and his own.

"Everyone, please, a toast---" Speechless, everyone raised their glasses. Lucius had the biggest smile in the room, and was absolutely aglow. Narcissa still looked worried, but raised her glass. "To the next generation of Death Eaters, to our legacy, to The Malfoy's." And he drank, and so did all the followers.

"TOMORROW WE STORM HOGWARTS!" He proclaimed. And the lights came on and cheers rang out and dancing and celebration ensued throughout the night.

Lucius approached Voldemort and nodded a bow, "My Lord, we are so grateful. Thank you, My Lord. Thank you."

The Dark Lord put his hand on Lucius' shoulder. "I have foreseen things Lucius, the inevitable. You will need to be strong tomorrow, Lucius. And you will need to be strong for your son, after The Final Battle, and explain to him."

"But, My Lord," Lucius began, "Will you not---"

"I have foreseen my end, Lucius." Voldemort said. "But not the end of the Death Eaters. Your son will be the light that will guide them after my demise." He looked Lucius firmly in the eyes. "Tell no one, Lucius, what I have just told you. Even Narcissa, I know she is not truly happy about this decision, it is natural, a mother's worry... We will fight tomorrow, aside each other, for the last time, my friend."


	2. Chapter 2

_Two_

Aralyn was keeping herself busy as usual in the basement of her grandfather's house, huddled around a cauldron and a book, throwing all the nasty this-and-thats of the ingredients in and turning at just the right times when a loud noise upstairs distracted her and her pretty pale yellow potion turned a sickly yellow-green. "Dammit!" she exclaimed. The blue merle Border collie at her feet groaned and looked up at her. "I know Merlin! But he's not here is he?" The collie whimpered and put his head back in his paws.

She marched up the basement steps that led into the back hallway, through the parlor, to the entrance hall, up the two flights of the main stairwell to the third floor, found the door at the end of the hallway, where loud bangs were still coming from, pulled a key from her pocket, turned it, and pushed on the door. Still it did not budge. Aralyn yelled and knocked loudly. "DRACO! OPEN UP!"

The door flew open and Draco was on the other side of the room with his wand pointed towards her. "I want to leave!" He yelled. "You can't hold me here anymore! You heard Snape the other night, there's a war going on at Hogwarts right now, we haven't heard from him in two days. And we're stuck here! We need to go."

"What good will either of the two of us leaving do? Besides, I only leave this house maybe once or twice each year. Why would I want to leave?" She put her hands on her hips. "It's safe here, that's why Snape brought you here. And that is why you are staying here Draco!"

He began huffing and puffing, pacing back and forth from one side of the room to the other. 'Geez,' Aralyn thought to herself, 'What kind of God makes such an idiot boy so cute?' Finally he turned on his heel to look at her.

"Look," He began. "I don't do well being held within walls. And I surely don't do well knowing that there's a war going on only miles from here and I can't do anything about it."

"As noble as that is, Draco---"

"Noble? You think I'm trying to be NOBLE? That's Potter's area of expertise, thank you. I would just like to be part of the action instead of stuck in this blasted shithole!" He kicked the post of the bed.

"This SHITHOLE, sir, is my home. And that was my Aunt Odelia's bed; I would appreciate you not destroying it. Now you listen here, I don't understand much about this 'war' because I haven't really gotten any chance to be a part of it, but I do know that apparently neither side much likes you right now, and both would rather see you dead, seeing as how one is mad that you didn't murder my beloved grandfather and the other thinks you did it. The best place for you is here, where there aren't sides, just a terribly confused and uninformed girl who's only part in this whole thing so far has been an order to keep a close watch on your arse." She slammed the door, went back into the hallway and was locking it again when he threw something at it and she went flying backwards. She stood up again and grabbed the handle, pulling it towards her and could feel him on the other side trying to open it.

"You're a girl!" He said. "Give up, I'm stronger, and you're just going to hurt yourself." She could make his face out through the slight opening in the door that was opening wider in his advantage.

"Then why do you look like you're struggling?" She said, pulling harder now. "You really underestimate me, Malfoy."

The struggle at the door continued, and Aralyn pulled harder than ever to bring the door to a close… Right on her fingers.

"EEEEOOOOOWWWW!!!!" She wailed, and fell to her knees, blowing on her red fingertips that were quickly turning purple. The door beside her came open and Draco knelt down beside her, and she shoved him away.

"Stop it!" He said, "Let me have a look and see," She stopped being difficult and he took her hand and gently ran his cold fingers over the back of her knuckles. It gave her goose bumps, but she hoped he didn't notice. He did, but he didn't say anything.

"Let me go get my wand," She said. "I can take care of it."

"Don't waste your magic, you baby." Draco scoffed. "You don't need a wand for a thing like this, c'mon." He lifted her up and her little muffled sobs continued as she tried cradling her hand. "Don't baby it, it'll go stiff."

"What are you, a doctor now?" She rolled her eyes.

"Actually," he said as they headed down the stairs, "I considered going to University after this year, to become a healer. I like science, anatomy specifically." She could here the hit-on in his voice when he said that last bit. She paid no attention to it. It was plain obvious that she and this boy he had known only a few weeks were attracted to each other, but their personalities were volatile enough to create the next atomic bomb if they collided just right.

They got to the kitchen after an eternity of stairs and small sobs, which had hushed by then. And she sat on a barstool at the island while he raided the icebox with a sandwich bag and put a few cubes in it. He turned around and applied them to her hand.

"Ouch! That's cold!" she yelped.

"It stings, but it'll help the swelling, and then I can look to see if you've broken any."

"They're not that bad." She said.

"Well, you sure are crying as if they are." He went to the fridge and grabbed some milk and poured himself a glass. "You would think for someone who lives alone practically 8 months out of the year, that you would be a little less of a whiny baby and a little more self-sufficient."

"Coming from someone who lives in one of the largest mansions in the UK? Oh yes, Malfoy, because I'm sure you're so self-sufficient in your 12 bedroom, 8 bath, home with your 6 house elves." Aralyn rolled her eyes. "I bet you're an absolute spoiled brat when you're not home. If there's not mommy or daddy or a house-elf within close range, you probably lose your mind."

"You don't know a thing about me." Draco said, slamming his glass on the table, it shattered. "Fuck!" he moved his hand to see better and saw the blood and the glass sticking out of it. Aralyn grabbed a paper towel and took his hand, he tried to pull it away and she smacked him. "Ow! That hurt!"

"Then hold the bloody hell still." She grabbed his hand tightly and warned him, "This will hurt a bit."

"Wait--- What are you--- OW! Bitch! What the hell?!" But he looked at his hand and the blood coming out of him was beginning to make him nauseous. "Oh my Gods! The blood, clean it up, clean it up." He stomped.

She laughed. "And you called me the baby!" But Aralyn ignored his behavior and pressed the paper towel against the slice where the glass had been. "Just hold that there and---"

"I think I know how to stop a bleed, thank you." He took over with the paper towel and Aralyn sat back down at the bar stool, resuming her icing of her knuckles. After a few minutes she laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked, annoyed.

"Look at us," she said. "We're a couple of idiot klutzes."

He chuckled a little. And then her laughter stopped. "Why do you get so defensive about your parents? You can tell me you know, you're the only company I've had in a while, let alone my age, it's not as if I'm going to gossip to everyone."

"It's just none of your business, okay? Would you give it a rest?" He peered up at her getting of her stool. She let out a loud humph and marched off.

"Because that's real mature…" he called after her as he heard her going up the stairs.

"Fuck you," she yelled back.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Women,"

Late that night, in his third floor bedroom, a strange creaking sound awoke Draco. He sat up in his bed to see his bedroom door slowly creeping open. He reached for the lamp at his side and turned it on, but still couldn't make out Aralyn in the darkness by the doorway.

"Aralyn," he called, "Are you there?" He reached for his wand on his nightstand to find it wasn't there. "What the--- Aralyn," he got out of bed and fumbled on the floor for his pants. He preferred to sleep freely. "This isn't funny." When he got his pants on he grabbed a candle off the shelf and headed for the doorway.

Holding it out in front of him, he made his way through the darkness with only his little bit of candlelight. He crept further down the hallway. "Aralyn," he said in a singsong voice, "Pay back's a bitch, just remember that…" He heard a noise behind him and turned around. "Aralyn?" but nothing was there.

"Draco, what are you doing up at this hour?" He turned back around and saw down the hall a light and Aralyn standing in her doorway in just a long button down shirt. He eyed her from her face down and stopped at her shapely thighs, biting his lip slightly. He hoped she couldn't see his face; it would be enough to let her know... "Wait a minute--- Were you sneaking out?"

"Oh, real funny, I'd like to know how I could do that without my wand."

"What do you mean? Did you lose it?"

"Yes, Aralyn, in the tiny bedroom I managed to lose my wand. Obviously, why didn't I think of that? Come off it, what did you do with it?" She started to walk towards him and as she did the bedroom door behind her started to close, this was odd and distracted Draco as he stared into the darkness behind her.

"I didn't take your God damn wand," she said as she walked closer. "Have you checked---"

And that's when Draco saw the hooded shadowed figure behind her. "Aralyn! Behind---" But her eyes went wide and a hand went over his mouth and the hooded figure behind her grabbed her by the waist as she screamed. "Draco!" she reached for his hand, but the hooded figure pulled her away.

"STUPIFY!" And it all went black for the both of them.

After what felt like the longest sleep in the world, Draco woke up, surprised to find he was in a very familiar place, his Hogwarts dormitory.

But the two people in the other two beds were not his usual roommates. His mother slept soundly in one bed, and Lucius Malfoy sat awake, with his glasses on, reading a book in the other. Draco blinked his eyes several times and rubbed them, thinking this surely had to be the oddest sort of dream he had had in a very long time. "Father," he said finally. Lucius looked up over the book and smiled, closed it, and came over. He sat at the end of Draco's bed.

"My son," he said, patting Draco's arm. "How are you?"

Draco just stared at his smiling father. "Confused," he said finally.

"Yes, well I imagine you would be. We do have a lot to discuss." Lucius said. "Maybe we should wake your mother and head down for breakfast in the Great Hall."

"What are you two doing here?" Draco asked as Lucius got up. Before answering, Lucius looked around at the walls and doors. And then sat back down on the end of Draco's bed.

"The Dark Lord advised your mother and I not to join in the fighting, so that after the battle we would appear to have not been in league with the Death Eaters, and not be arrested. So that we could be there for you."

"Because I'm being arrested, aren't I?" Draco said, lowering his head.

"No, my son. The world believes Snape did it, and that the Dark Lord was using you as he's used many. They do not know the truth. Even the Death Eater's who have survived are not angry with you. The Dark Lord told us not to be."

"Then why do you have to be there for me?" Draco asked. "If we're all going to be fine, then--- And what do you mean 'survived'? How many were lost? How many are going to Azkaban? Who won?"

"We lost, Draco." Lucius said simply. "But in comparison, the others lost more than we did. We've lost only half of our Death Eaters. We've lost half of that to Azkaban, half to the fight. Three quarters of our men survived."

"So, what of the half who survived and got away?" Draco asked. "What happens to them?"

"That, Draco," Lucius smiled. "Is what we need to discuss. There's been a new regime change. The Dark Lord, he confided in me that he knew this battle would be the end of him, but not the end of us. There's a soon to be a new Dark Lord, Draco. One chosen before he passed, by Lord Voldemort himself."

"Who father? Is it you? I always said you'd---"

"No, Draco. I am much to old to start anew. But I have been appointed counselor to the next Lord, that also was one of the Dark Lord's last wishes."

"Who is it father?" Draco sat up, wide-eyed. This was a move he never thought the Dark Lord would make. "Is it Snape, for killing Dumbledore?"

"You must wait until the Inaugural Ball. We are all meeting in a few days to discuss it. We want to have it on the next full moon. Which would be two weeks from, let's see, today's the third and a Tuesday, Friday will the sixth," Lucius paused. "The Ball will be on June twentieth… And Draco, I know you two were close, but there's something you must know… Severus was---"

"Oh no, not Snape." Draco said, he looked miserably to the ground. "I told Aralyn we should go look for him…"

"It's better that you didn't." His father said. "It might've made it look more suspicious that you were with him… Besides, Draco… Snape was a traitor. The Dark Lord has known for years. But he still had use for him, so he kept him alive…"

"Snape? Never!" Draco was appalled. "He was one of the most loyal---"

"He was a double agent, Draco, but not for us." Lucius looked miserable too. "This was hard for me to accept too, Draco. Severus Snape has been one of my best friends for years, but I always wondered…"

"You did?"

"Yes, I have wondered for about a year now if I could trust Snape, but not because of this."

"Then why, father?"

Lucius looked in pain, and looked to his sleeping wife. "You tell no one of this, Draco. It would be an embarrassment to our whole family… I almost discarded your mother a year ago, almost threw her out on the streets, I came home from the Ministry early one night and---"

"No," Draco began. "Not Snape---"

"He was fucking your mother's brains out, Draco." Lucius said. "She's head over heels for him, this is killing her, his death and him having been a traitor. I know she loves him. We only decided to stay together because we have been for so long. It was an arranged marriage, we only met two weeks before we wed, I realize I would be a fool to think a woman wouldn't still give into her romantic notions on the side…"

"Father, I can't believe--- Mom, wow." Draco stood up and placed his hand on his father's shoulder. "I'm sorry, father."

There were tears in Lucius' eyes, but they did not run. They just welled up and stayed there, as if they were forbidden to come out. "What's done is done, Draco." He said. "Go on down to breakfast, I'll wake her."

"Father," Draco began. "What happened to Aralyn?"

"Is that her name? Well, she's staying here at Hogwarts for now. She's going to take her N.E.W.T.S. before she returns to her home, the house belongs to her now. I believe they're considering offering her a potions position here, if she does well on her N.E.W.T.S. Given that she was taught by Dumbledore, and Severus, she does very well in the potions department. Why do you ask?"

"I've made… friends… with her I guess you could say. It's hard not too when for weeks your only company is a beautiful woman." Draco said with a chuckle. "I do hope the Ministry found something more suitable for her to wear."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Last night when they abducted us," he said. "All she was wearing was a mildly revealing button down shirt… Not the best attire to be kidnapped in. I know if I were her captor…"

Lucius chuckled. "That's enough Draco. If she's quite the looker you say she is, I wouldn't mind meeting her."

"Father… but mom," Draco said.

"We're seeing other people, Draco." Lucius said. "It's the only way she would stay."

"Oh. Well, just…" Draco sighed with a smile, "Find someone your own age, old man."

They both laughed. "Come now, boy, even your mother has eight years under me."

Draco smiled. "I'm going to go down to breakfast, Father, and see if I can find Vincent and Gregory. I'll see you later."

"Of course, Draco. I do look forward to meeting her." Lucius called after.

"Enough, already." And Draco hurried out the door down to the Great Hall.


	3. Chapter 3

_Three_

Lucius and his wife made their way down the stairs along with many other students and parents alike, all tired and worn out over the ending of last night's battle. At the Slytherin table, possibly the least populated of all the tables, sat his son with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, but this Aralyn was nowhere to be found.

"Draco," Lucius called as he and Narcissa joined the table.

Draco made a wave, and Crabbe and Goyle moved aside to let the Malfoys sit down. Narcissa took a seat beside her son, his two friends on his left and his father across from him.

"Draco, darling," Narcissa whispered in her son's ear, "Where is this lovely granddaughter of the great late Albus Dumbledore?"

"I haven't seen her, mum," Draco said with a frown. "And since nobody knows who she is or what she looks like, it's hard to ask anyone to keep an eye out, you know."

"I see." Narcissa said, piling some sweet rolls on her plate. "Interested?" she asked curiously.

"Interested? Surely you can't be serious, mum." Draco chuckled. "She's a Dumbledore, father would never let it go further than---"

"You would be surprised at what your father would allow for the right lineage in this family. I'm just saying, sweetie," Narcissa began. "Your father keeps considering an arranged marriage for you. That worked out okay for your father and I, I suppose," Draco narrowed his eyes at this, wanting to reveal what he knew, but kept quiet. "But it would be nice if you could end up with someone you really liked that your father approved of, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so, yes." Draco said. "But really liked does not mean really loved. Merlin, mother, I've only known the girl a few weeks. And she's a bit young, I think."

"She's not so much younger than you." Narcissa said. "The Minister tells me she's sixteen, she'll be seventeen in July. That's only next month."

"Yes, and I became seventeen last August." Draco laughed. "She's exactly one year, one month, and one day younger than me. She has this uncanny science and mathematical skill. She told me that as soon as I told her my birthday." Draco's birthday was August 14th, and Aralyn's was July 6th.

"And those have always been your strong points, see," His mother said with a smile. "Common ground already."

"We'll see, mum," Draco frowned. "I thought already about asking her for a trip to Hogsmeade next weekend. I guess all the students are going before the year's out. She doesn't live far from Hogsmeade Village, perhaps she'll meet up."

"That would be nice," Narcissa smiled.

Draco just bit his lip, nodded, and continued his breakfast. The students weren't permitted outside the castle, because there was still a lot of cleanup going on after the battle. But the three young men went walking around the halls to kill time.

"You'd think a simple spell'd do it," Goyle said. "They got easy cleanup spells for 'erthing else."

"These are people's bodies," Draco said. "You can't just clean them into thin air, Goyle."

"True… I guess." He shrugged.

"Oy!" said Crabbe, pointing down the hall to the stairwell. "Look there! Mighty beautiful, 'at one is!"

"Wow," Goyle stopped and grabbed himself in a crude mannered way. "Look at the arse on that."

Draco's head snapped up. "That," he said with a smirk, "is my claim, boys." And he headed her way.

Long ravenous hair flowing along her back, tanned and blue-eyed, he saw her. He smiled. The Ministry had allowed her some clothes after all. _'Oh and thank God for that,'_ Draco thought, and noticed a hardening in his pants. She wore just a solid dark purple tee-shirt, blue denim shorts that she was always calling her "Daisy Dukes", calf-high white socks with matching purple lines at the tops of them, (he remembered asking her about a week ago what they were and she called them Baseball Socks) and a pair of white tennis shoes. The best part was that she was bent over, tying her shoes. As she stood up Draco called her name.

She turned, flashed him a worried look, and headed down the stairs just as they were about to change. His feet took out from under him. "Aralyn! Wait!" But he couldn't keep up, try as he might, the second she was getting off of a flight of stairs, it began to change and she was onto the next.

"Just stay away from me, Draco!" She called over her shoulder. And took off on a second floor hallway. But Draco had a better idea, and he made his way back up the stairs to the fourth floor, to a blank wall. "Aralyn," he said to it. And he walked through the doors and came out of a wall in a second floor hallway, right behind her.

"Hey," he said, out of breath.

She jumped and turned around. "Oh my Gods! How did you do that?!?"

"I know this place up and down," he said, bent over with his hands on his knees. He put a finger up, to signal he needed a minute. "You know," he said, standing up now but still short of breath. "You run really---" And the hand came across his face.

"What the hell was that for?" he rubbed the side of his cheek.

"You—are—a—sniveling—little—liar!" She said, crossing her arms with a stomp.

"What did I do?"

"You weren't being –forced- to murder my grandfather. It was your mission of some sort by those hooded pureblood freaks, and you were too cowardly to do it, so Snape stepped in and did it for you. My grandfather trusted him, and I believed you! You should rot in Azkaban! And in hell, for that matter."

"Yes, alright. I was assigned to do it. But I wasn't a coward, I just couldn't bring myself to do it because---"

"Because you're a coward!" She yelled.

"BECAUSE I RESPECTED ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!" He shouted back, in her face now.

She just glared at him while his face was inches away from hers, he was angry and he looked set for fight as he breathed heavily on her face. And then a different expression overcame her, a searching one as she scanned his face and met his eyes, as if trying to decide if he was telling the truth. She just shook her head. "What's it matter to me?" she said aloud. "I don't even know you, it's not like we're even friends. You're just a boy," she turned around and walked away.

"I'M NOT A COWARD!" He yelled behind her, but she did not turn around.

Aralyn had a lie down on the couch in the living room of the former Headmaster's and sobbed. The first friend she thought she had ever made, the first boy she ever met her own age, turned out to be one of the men who plotted the death of her grandfather. There was a hole in her heart unlike any she ever had known. All the people she'd met here at Hogwarts thus far had been so warm though, she was afraid of the summer coming, when she would return to a home she was used to sharing with her grandfather, a large colonial that had felt like home, would now feel like a prison. She took her first steps on the hardwood floors in the kitchen with her Aunt Odelia, showed her first magic at a Christmas party when she was 5, when the lights on the Christmas tree went on and she cried so hard that the whole tree caught on fire.

It had been home to all her best memories. And now the big white house north of Hogsmeade, would be as much a tomb as the large white marble casket that sat in the north end of the Hogwarts grounds, today was the first day she saw it. She took his favorite flowers, dandelions, set them at its head, and sat at the foot for hours and just talked to him. She remembered why he liked dandelions so much. His voice rang out in her ears, "They're a flower unlike any other, Aralyn, and yet when people see their yellow blooms they pluck them and toss them like weeds, just because they didn't plant it themselves. One of the only naturally occurring flowers, and nobody likes them. How sad is that, Aralyn?" She smiled for a few moments, treasuring the memory. "Very sad, Papa." Aralyn can always remember saying.

And now she lay on that couch, all these memories floating around, feeling lonelier than she had ever since the day he died. Her thoughts went to her parents, the mother and father she'd never met or seen pictures of. When she asked her grandfather about them, or even just to see a picture, he would say that he didn't have any anymore. Aralyn never even got to find out how they died. All she ever had was a small charm that she wore on a plain white gold bracelet, a white gold heart with a snake wrapped around it that said T. R. & O.A. on the front and on the back "Unidos Perpetua"--- Together Forever.

"Papa," Aralyn asked Albus once, "If mother's name was Odessa Dumbledore, why the O.A. initial?"

"Her middle name, darling, was Aralyn." Aralyn loved that detail; it made her feel such a connection. "I'm sorry dear, that I don't remember your father's middle name."

Aralyn didn't know her father's last name either. She just knew him as "Tom". She took her mother's maiden name of Dumbledore. There was so much she didn't know…_'That's it,'_ she decided. _'That is how I will spend my summer; researching my parents and how they died.'_

Draco was enraged. He stormed down the hallways to the faculty room, where he knew the Ministry was stationed while they sorted everything at the school out. He threw the door open, and the persons inside all looked up at him from over their scrolls or their heated conversations, and he traced the faces in the room until he found the one he was looking for, The Minister's.

"Why did you tell her?" Draco yelled. "What good was it to make me the bad guy? I DIDN'T MURDER HIM!"

"Mr. Malfoy, if you don't kindly lower your voice… Well, I would not want an altercation of any sort if I were you right now." Rufus Scrigemour was the only one with his back to Draco.

"WHY? I DID NO WRONG!" Draco barked.

The Minister turned around now, and took a few steps towards Draco. "You were in cohorts with the men who plotted the assassination of Albus Dumbledore, and you were the one who originally planned on committing the crime. I thought Aralyn should know when she started talking about her… friendship… with you that she was befriending a harbored fugitive wanted for the attempted murder of her grandfather."

"Wanted for attempted murder?" Draco said, he looked around nervously, "I'm under arrest? Why haven't I been taken---"

"You were being charged, Draco." Scrigemour said, sourly. "Fortunately for you, Potter swore a statement that he felt you were not doing it upon your own will. We cannot even touch you for accessory now, which was our fallback plan. I don't know why a great young man like Harry Potter would take sides with the likes of you, but consider it luck, boy."

"Potter?" Draco said… "I see…"

"Good, now get the hell out of our temporary headquarters. You have no right to be here."

Draco did not argue that, and through the hood of his cloak up under his head and stormed out of the room, running into Minerva McGonagall moments later.

"Oh!" She said, dropping her papers everywhere. Draco bent down to help here and shoved them her way. "Thank you, Mr.--- Oh! Mr. Malfoy, I forgot you have returned. Are you doing well? Potter told me about how you were put under the curse. My dear boy, how you could ever forgive your parents for associating with those… people, and putting you in danger like that, is well beyond me. I'm so glad you're alright."

"Erm, thank you, Professor." He mumbled, thinking over the part about Potter again. "I think I need to go pay Potter a visit, actually."

"Oh, you won't find him here, Mr. Malfoy. He's left with Ronald Weasley." Draco raised one eyebrow questionably. "Oh yes, you don't know… One of the twins were taken in the battle, they'll be gone for mourning purposes for a week at least."

"Which one?" Draco asked, even though he didn't know the difference between the two.

"George," she said simply, with a miserable look.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I will see you later then." He began walking away.

"Yes, Good day Mr. Malfoy," she called after him.

He made his way through the castle to the painting of what once was a fat lady that now was an empty portrait. He swung the portrait open himself, not surprised that no password was required. The same could be said for tapestry that covered the Slytherin commons. When he entered the room, it was like Déjà vu, and all the heads turned his way. "I need to speak to Neville Longbottom. Is he here?" he announced. Several people just glared, some pointed up the stairs.

As he pushed his way through the crowed one bystander spit on his shoes. Draco just rubbed it off on the carpet and kept walking. "Longbottom," he called when he got to the top of the stairs.

"In here," a voice called from one of the rooms. "It's open,"

Draco pushed the door open and Neville swung around from the bags he was packing. "Oh, it's you… Well what do –you- want?"

"Neville, I need to ask something of you. Something important." Draco closed the door and turned around to find a wand in his face.

"Don't come any closer!" Neville warned. "I'll stun you! Or- or worse!"

"Haven't we gotten brave?" Draco said dryly. "Neville I need to talk to you about Dumb—"

"Don't you even say his name!" Neville shouted. "I mean it, one step closer."

"I need to talk to you about what happened that night, Neville!" Draco argued.

"I know what happened that night, Malfoy, or haven't you heard? Potter's told everyone that you were under that control curse, or whatever. I was there, too. You were perfectly---"

"I know! That's what I mean. And that's what I came to talk to you about. Why? Why would Potter say that? Why would he lie for me? I need to know."

Neville stopped and looked to his feet. "I don't know… He won't tell any of us. He must've said something to Weasley, though, because every time anyone gives him any grief about it, Ron steps in and tells them to all bugger off."

"Hmm. I see." Draco turned around. "Sorry to have bothered you, I'm just trying to understand…" He went to open the door again when something else occurred to him. "Neville, do you know if Potter left that map here or took it with him?"

"Why…?" Neville asked.

"I just have a feeling about all of this." Draco said. "You know, all the people staying here, someone could be easily in this castle that… shouldn't be."

Neville sighed. "Yeah, he left it with me… For the same reasons you just said."

"Look, Potter's your little hero. If he can trust me, can't you?"

Neville looked at his feet once more. "I suppose so…" He went to his nightstand and opened it, taking out a folded up piece of what appeared to be old parchment paper, and handed it to Draco.

"Longbottom, you know I don't know how to open it. Make it work." And he tossed it back to Neville.

"Anytime you want it to show you," Neville began. "You tap your wand on it, like this. And clearly say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'"

The parchment quickly filled with ink and numerous little dots and names appeared on the map. Neville handed it back to Draco.

"Don't ruin that, Harry will kill me." Neville said warningly.

"Thank you, Longbottom," Draco hurried out the door. "Thank you!" he called once more over his shoulder.

He ran down the halls, looking everywhere on the map for that one little dot he wanted to see the most. Second floor hallways again, in a room that Draco wasn't familiar with, was not Aralyn Dumbledore, but printed instead was "Aralyn Riddle".


	4. Chapter 4

_Four_

Aralyn sat by the fireplace, reading one of the dusty books off of the old shelf that framed the fireplace in her living area. This one was a Shakespeare title she had not yet read, called "Twelfth Night." Not one of his better works, she felt thus far. A knock came at her door and she opened it only an inch and saw the blonde hair and steel eyes boring into her.

"Aralyn, please let me in. Please." He just said.

But she shut the door in his face and sat back down on the couch, just as she was getting comfortable she heard it swing open behind her. She shut the book and sighed. Without looking behind to him, she asked, "What do you want?"

"You'll never learn to lock a door, will you?" He said, coming around the other side of the couch to sit. He leaned down and started untying his boots.

"Don't make yourself too comfortable, Draco." She frowned. "I asked you what you want."

He continued taking off his boots, lay back on the couch and threw his feet up on her thighs. She looked down in disgust.

"What?" he said. "They're clean!"

But she shoved them off her lap with a sneer, stood up, returned the book to its place on the shelf and whirled back around to see him occupying the whole couch now, with his arms resting behind his head and his eyes closed. "I'm not staying in the same room as my parents." He said, still not opening them.

She crossed her arms. "Well, you're not staying in here with me."

"You're right. I'm staying in the Headmaster's guest room, adjacent to you. As long as you don't mind sharing a bathroom."

"I do," she said firmly.

Draco finally flickered his eyes open and grinned. "That," he said, "did not sound like a friendly tone."

She shook her head, rolled her eyes, and put her hands on her hips. "Do you think it was meant to be?"

"Well I don't know," he said stretching his arms out with a yawn. "I don't know anything, I'm just a boy, remember?"

"Ugh!" She threw her hands in the air and sat in an old chair beside the couch. "Why are you here?"

"I told you."

"Bullshit," she said, crossing her legs and leaning back.

He sat up now and turned to her, hunched over and crossing his hands in his lap. "Aralyn," he said. "I know who you are."

She looked at him, puzzled now. "What do you mean?"

"You are not the daughter of an Odessa Dumbledore." Draco said simply. "Nor are you the legitimate granddaughter of Albus Dumbledore."

"Excuse me?" was all she could muster.

"Albus Dumbledore had no daughters. He had one son, named Phineas, who died of plague when he was eight."

"How do you know this?" she said, breathing heavily now.

"Because I found this," Draco said, holding up a leather-bound book. "It's the Dumbledore history, and it automatically writes itself. You cannot even write in it if you try," he pulled a pen out of his cloak pocked and gave it to her, "Go ahead, try."

She opened the book to the front page and clicked Draco's pen. The ink would not stick; it disappeared as soon as it hit the paper.

"And you're in it," he said. "Here," he knelt beside her chair and flipped some of the pages while she held the book still, her hands shaking. Draco read aloud "July 11th, Albus Brian Dumbledore met up with a young wizard by the name of Tom Riddle, who was about to leave his 5 day old daughter on the steps of a muggle orphanage. Tom explains the death of his spouse after labor, and that he had no desire to raise the child on his own. This orphanage was the same one that Albus had come to many years before to tell an eleven-year-old Tom that he was a wizard, and was being invited to study at Hogwarts. Albus suggested to Tom that he give the child to him to raise rather than let her be raised by muggles, reminding Tom that he hated the orphanage while growing up. Tom agreed and had only one request, that the daughter be named Aralyn, after his late mistress' middle name. The death of Odessa Aralyn Avery is still undetermined, but she was officially declared missing. And no record has since been found of the man whose full name was once Tom Marvalo Riddle. The child was named Aralyn Marvala Dumbledore, and is presently sixteen years old." He let her take it in a moment, and closed the book.

"If you read it a year from now it would say seventeen. It updates on its own. An entry isn't made on one person's whole life until they have deceased. Madame Pince, the librarian here, set it out on the bookshelf when Dumbledore died, so that everyone could have a read at the lifespan of the great-late Albus Dumbledore." He paused a moment and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Whoever has read this, Aralyn, will know that you are not truly the granddaughter of Albus Dumbledore. I thought it fair you should know, before someone who's read it approached you about it."

Aralyn held the book in her hands still, tears welling up in her eyes. After a long cry, while he soothed her shoulder, she spoke at last. "My mother died, and my father just… gave me away and disappeared?" She sobbed some more. "I don't understand why grandfra--- Albus wouldn't tell me? We were so close…" She buried her head in her hands and wailed. Draco maneuvered himself so he was knelt in front of her chair.

"Aralyn," he said softly. "There's something else,"

She wiped the hair out of her face and met his eyes, again inches from his face.

"I know who your mother is." Aralyn sat up now, staring at him curiously. "I've never met her, but there are two students here, a boy and his little brother who go here, they're last names are Avery. There's a mild family resemblance too, now that I think of it. They once spoke of an Aunt who died before they were born, named Odessa."

"Can I meet them?" She asked.

"They're only a first year and a fourth year, Aralyn. They might be upset by it… They lost their father in the battle."

"My uncle?" She asked.

"Yes, other than the boys, you are all the Avery descendants still left." Draco said. "Their mother died when Calin, the oldest, was four. I didn't know the two of them very well, but my father and Bourne, their father and your uncle, were good friends."

Aralyn thought about what Draco said and a horrified expression covered her face. "Draco… for which side of the battle was my uncle fighting?"

He cringed and closed his eyes, not wanting to meet her upset gaze. Her hand covered her mouth and she yelped. She squirmed past him and out of her chair, walking back and forth in front of the fireplace, tears streaming down her face. "And my mother?" she was afraid to ask.

"Once a more loyal follower than Avery," he muttered, still staring at the chair. She cried in her hands some more, finally slamming her fists on the mantelpiece. After a long silence, she asked,

"So, my father, I imagine he was too then?"

"I don't know. I've never heard of him. If he knew Dumbledore, then maybe he was not. Maybe that's why he gave you to him and no one has heard of your father since. If you give away the child of a Death Eater, you can almost be assured they're going to come hunting after you…"

Aralyn sobbed until she was heaving, Draco was at her side, with his hands on her shoulders as she bent over and held her stomach. He moved her to the couch, sat down and laid her down with her head in his lap while she cried for another half hour or so. At last he talked her into her bed, she wouldn't get under the covers or change even, but at least she was lying down and might finally go to sleep. As he left her and went to the guestroom adjacent to her, he felt a pang of guilt. Perhaps this was too much for one person to handle in one night. Now she really had lost everything, even the hope of meeting her parents one day. With a cloud of regret hanging over his head, Draco changed out of his clothes and buried himself into the covers as he listened to Aralyn's tears in the next room.

The next morning Aralyn's cried out when she opened her eyes to a pain between her eye sockets and brow line. She dug her fingers into them, and along the bridge of her nose, trying to put the pain away. She threw a pillow over her face and shouted obscenities into the feathery cloud, recalling what the night before had brought her. A door at the other end of the room, off the living area opened up and Draco Malfoy peered out at her. Through the opening Aralyn could see his chest was visible and turned back into her pillow, remembering the one night when she discovered he slept nude, and not wanting to relive the embarrassment again. Her pillow was tearstained and the blanket was hard and sticky in places she clearly had blown her nose into it. She groaned aloud.

"Doing alright, then?" Draco said with a mild chuckle. She felt the side of the bed cave in a little and guessed he had sat beside her. She felt his hand on her lower back and move down and

"HEY!!!" She turned on him, grabbing his arm. "It isn't hard to tell that is NOT my back."

"Well, that's one way to wake you up though, isn't it?" He smiled at her again.

"If that's your idea of waking me up, or cheering me up, it sucks." She said, folding her arms around the pillow she held infront of her. She threw her clothes off while under the covers in the middle of the night and had only a sports bra on and granny panties that were not in the best shape. She only were them when her monthly's came, and the ministry didn't give her much time to find clothes and they were the first thing she saw in her drawer so she grabbed them and threw them on first. If Draco saw them she would be horrified.

"Good morning," he said finally.

"Mm. Morning." She grunted.

"I'll see you down at breakfast today, then?"

"Yes, I suppose." She yawned. "I have my N.E.W.T.S. today."

"Do you? Good luck on those. I hear there's a position here at Hogwarts waiting for you if you do well."

"So I'm told…" she rolled her eyes.

"You don't want it?" He asked, standing up. It came to her attention then that he did infact have clothes on, but only a bra less than what she was wearing. _'Boxers or briefs…_ _who ever said it can't be boxer-briefs,'_ she thought, eyeing the gray shorts he had on without trying to be obvious about it.

"Not particularly. They only want to keep me here because they're afraid I'll go crazy having not been around society and losing the only people in my life… That sort of old hat."

"I see." He said. "Well, then in that case I hope you do terribly poorly and you don't get any good paying job offers at all, if you want to be ungrateful about it." He turned and started walking away and she threw a pillow at him, nailing him in the behind. He turned around, eyebrows raised.

"Keep your hands off mine, next time." She warned.

"Yes ma'am." He said, mimicking her. He went into his room and she quickly changed into other clothes, kicking her dirty granny panties under her bed with her foot. And still fastening her pant button, she raced downstairs to have breakfast and be finished before she would have to deal with him.

Draco opened the door expecting to still find Aralyn there, and was going to go with her down to breakfast, but she had taken off. He went to use the restroom and out of sheer nosiness began rooting through the medicine cabinet when he saw a navy blue bottle with a black liquid in it that he could not mistake. '_Contraception potion? My, my Aralyn, I didn't think a girl raised so sheltered would need that…'_

He kept on raiding the bathroom but nothing else sparked his interest. A large gold Jacuzzi tub occupied one corner of the room, and a marble stand up shower was adjacent to it. He opened it up, _'A double shower…? Not bad Dumbledore, didn't think this would have been your style.'_

Draco hurried down to the Great hall, and as soon as he entered the room he saw Aralyn sitting on the floor (not everyone could get spots at the tables) close to the faculty table, eating cross-legged chatting cheerfully with Professor McGonagall.

"Aralyn," He waved her way. She rolled her eyes and looked back to McGonagall.

"Dismissed," a voice said softly behind. "Tut-tut."

He turned around to find his father smiling at him. "I thought she was interested in you too Draco?"

"It's a complicated relationship," Draco replied with a smug grin.

His father grinned and put his hands around his son's shoulders, "Come on, boy, we saved you a seat at a table, where real people eat."

Draco started walking but not before turning his head to look back at Aralyn, who turned to him too just in time to flash him a smile. _'That's better,'_ he thought.

He ate his breakfast quickly, but not without a number of questions about where he was last night. "Aralyn had a rough night," he replied. "I stayed with her while she cried it out."

His mother crooned. "Already putting your shoulder up for her to cry on, my Draco, you are fond of this girl. I'm quite surprised."

"As am I," Lucius narrowed his eyes. "Remember that you're the man, Draco, don't indulge her girlish whims. I raised you better than that."

"Yes, father." Draco replied, looking to his food. He ate the rest of his meal in a matter of minutes and headed out the doors, and back up to the Headmaster's room. He thought about what his father said, and decided he was right. If he wanted Aralyn he was going to have to be a man and show her that he wasn't going to be put off.

He went straight to the fireplace and threw in the Floo powder that sat in a bag beside it. "Malfoy Manor!" he said, and the flames went green. And with a leap and a bound, Draco disappeared in the flames.


	5. Chapter 5

_Five_

Aralyn quite enjoyed her breakfast conversation with Minerva, she had been one of the few faculty members Aralyn had known quite well growing up. The grounds were open today, and Aralyn was tired of being cooped up in this castle, so she decided to take a walk about before returning to begin her N.E.W.T.S. Books in hand, she roamed the grounds. Some of the landscaping was still torn up, but the weather was so nice it made up for it. She made her way down to the lake and was just about to sit down and pull out her books when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Ey! Would 'at be my 'Lyn?" A rough friendly voice sounded behind her.

"HAGRID!" She jumped up and leapt into the friendly giant arms that awaited her. When he put her down she beamed up at him. "How are you?"

"Well, 'aven't been good cleanin' up after the mess 'n all. But I just had me some breakfast, feel much better now. What 'bout you 'Lyn?" He lowered himself down to sit on his knees and she sat back down in the grass across from him.

"I was doing okay, I suppose, finally getting past the worst part, you know? But then last night Draco found this book and---"

"I forgot you'd been 'avin to hang 'round that rat," he muttered.

"Oh no!" Aralyn said. "He's actually been quite nice to me, I know he's not always the best mannered but---"

"Don't 'ave any manners at all, ya ask me." Hagrid said firmly.

"Well, nevertheless, he brought me a book last night and---" She was getting quite tired of being interrupted.

"Say no more, 'Lyn, I know the book you mean." Hagrid frowned. "I'm sorry ya'd to find out 'at way."

"Oh…" she said, picking at the grass with her fingers now. "So you've read it too?"

"A lotta folk 'ave." he replied. "Everyone admired him, ya know. Great man, Dumbledore."

"Yeah… he was." She sighed.

"So ya real ma was one of 'em Death Eaters, eh?" He leaned back and looked up to the sky. "I knew Odessa, met her a couple times. She went to school here. She's always the nicer one. It was her brother, Bourne, he was the troublemakin' sort. He's the one who got her into 'at lot, I reckon. You look a lot like her, cept the eyes. You got your father's eyes, ya do." Hagrid looked troubled now. "I knew him, too."

"You did?" Aralyn got excited for a moment, but then saw his expression. "And, Hagrid, was he involved with them too?"

"I'd be lyin if I said I wa'nt sure. Far as I know, 'Lyn, he was one of 'em ones to started it all. He's the one who got me expelled o'er the spider, 'n all that monster bis'ness…"

"Then why would he take me to Dumbledore," Aralyn put her hands under her chin and sighed. "I don't understand."

"I reckon, 'Lyn, it's cause Death Eater 'r not, e'eryone knows what a great man Albus Dumbledore was. He's like a father to all us one time, Tom probly wa'nt no exception. Even Tom 'ad his moments sometimes. But then 'round our six and seven year it all went bad. When Dumbledore brought you to the castle 'at night, it was the first since he left school two years 'fore 'at I even 'erd his name mentioned. He just disappeared when all that Death Eater stuff started… I say, since he 'n Lucius Malfoy 're best friends, and the Avery's 're close to 'em too, he definitely 'ad a big hand in it, 'Lyn. I know 'ats not what ya hopin' to hear, 'Lyn, but ya know I ain't gon lie to ya, ya know 'at."

"I know Hagrid." She whispered. She stood up now and walked over and hugged her large friend. "Thank you Hagrid."

"Sure, 'Lyn." He patted her back. "You come 'ave a cup of tea with me after ya get 'em N.E.W.T.S. sorted out, ya hear?"

"Sure will, Hagrid. See you later." And she took off back towards the castle.

When Draco arrived in the entrance hall fireplace of his home, a house elf was there, awaiting him.

"Fiji," Draco said to it.

"Young Master, I heard you coming," she said with a smile and a bow. "Anything you need?"

"Yes, actually." Draco replied. "Find my best dress robes, I think Mother has them in her extra closet. And, also, a muggle tuxedo and bowtie,"

"Fancy party?" Fiji asked with a giggle.

"Something like that." Draco said. "Just put them on the parlor room sofa. I'll be busy in my room."

But he didn't go to his room, he went instead to the cellar, where he picked up his father's best and most aged blush wine. "The Zynphandel, yes." Draco said, looking it over. After that he headed straight to the family vault. They didn't bother with Gringotts as they had their own secured vault made with Goblin magic years ago, that only one single key would open. And Draco knew just where it was. He threw the bottle of wine to the ground, smashing it, and the key lay on the marble floor. His father always put the key in the oldest bottle of wine.

"Huck," he called. "There's a mess here in the hallway, come clean it up."

He continued with the key in hand to the vault, which was under the rear stairwell of the home, behind an old painting of his great grandfather shaking hands with some famous Alchemist. A turn of the key and the wall slid open and he made his way down the stairs through a dark tunnel to another door, another turn, and it too came open.

All the jewels and gold pieces that lay in front of him blinded him for a moment. He made his way to where the diamonds were kept. The only ones that mattered to his mother were the ones that she wore. Even at her most formal, she wore the same set of jewelry. "Always the best," she'd often said. He knew she would not much care if these were missing. And so he spent almost a whole half hour sitting amidst the jewels, finding the perfect ones. After he went through the diamonds and pearls, he moved onto the Rubies, remembering that Aralyn's birthday was in July. A few more bracelets and earrings later, and he had himself quite the collection. He left the first door and was locking it when he heard many bangs coming from upstairs and then behind him at the end of the tunnel an electric blue light came shooting at him. He dodged it.

"DRACO! For the love of Merlin, are you trying to get yourself killed?" A hooded Lucius ripped off his mask, as did the other several men behind him.

"I don't understand," Draco said, confused. "Fiji knows that I'm here,"

"She called on me, worried, said that she couldn't find you, the vault was open and that there was broken glass all over the hallway floor. We thought someone had invaded the house, one of the many vigilantes who are calling for our heads, perhaps." Lucius said.

"I'm sorry, father. I didn't know that such thing was an issue. I'll be more careful, from now on." Draco gulped, afraid his father would lash him.

But Lucius just heaved a sigh. "That's alright, my son. Come, let's all go upstairs to parlor. We've many things to talk about."

When they arrived in the parlor, his clothes were not on the sofa as Draco had requested. Perhaps Fiji became worried before she had a chance to, he wondered. Everyone took a seat and lowered their hoods and wand-away'ed their masks, while Lucius passed around some Brandi and cigars. Draco wished he wouldn't do this. He personally very much liked cigars and cigarettes, and was a terrible drunk when his father would allow him so much of it. He was scared it was going to be made a habit.

"Today," Lucius began. "Is the sixth, Death Eaters. Which means we have two weeks to arrange our Inauguration of our new Dark Lord." Everyone applauded.

"Who is it?" Draco asked. Everyone chuckled.

"That's between this council, Draco, you will find out soon enough." Lucius said.

Nott spoke up. "Have we come to a decision about the location?"

Lucius puffed on his cigar and replied, "Yes. Our Lord Voldemort had last informed me that he wished it to be held in his home, that it be given to our new Lord as a gift. I suggest we clean the place up. I'm calling in redecorators to give it a home-facelift. Lord Voldemort liked it so dismal, but our new Lord has a little more refined taste."

"How much will that cost?" Melinda Goyle asked.

"Enough that Narcissa and I can cover it. That," he said. "Will be our gift. Have the rest of you thought over yours?"

"Yes," many voices answered at once.

"Good, then that's taken care of." Lucius took a moment to set his cigar aside and take a swig of Brandy. "And what about our other little… gift… for the Dark Lord?"

A couple people sniggered. The women blushed.

"Yes," Marcus Crabbe piped up. "Sources tell me it's going to be a right little sticky treat for him."

"Draco," Lucius spoke up suddenly, "There are things we cannot discuss now without giving away the identity of our next Lord to you. I am sorry son, but---"

"I understand." Draco replied. He took his glass and his cigar and went to leave.

"Also, Draco," Lucius said. "You should return to Hogwarts soon to gather your things only tomorrow, but then we will need you here at home to help with preparations."

Draco furred his brow. "But--- father, I have plans… Aralyn and I,"

"You need to forget about that girl, Draco, at least for now, and focus your energy on helping us with these arrangements. There will be time for courting ladies later on. You're seventeen, my son. You have plenty of it."

Since he wasn't telling Draco that he couldn't see her again, just not anytime soon, Draco did not argue. "And Draco,"

"Yes, father?"

"I doubt your mother will notice the things you took, but you really should have asked. Give them here," Lucius put out his hand, motioning to the bag.

Draco moved his cloak aside and looked at the bag. "But, I---"

Lucius snatched it. "The woman a Malfoy courts does not deserve hand-me-downs. When that time comes, rest assured you will be given the funds from the vault to buy the lady her own jewels."

Draco smiled. "Yes, father."

"Be down for dinner tonight. It'll just be the three of us this evening, your mother is looking forward to it."

"Yes, sir." Draco called over his shoulder.

Lucius went back into the parlor, where the whole room bursts out laughing.

"He really has no idea!" Melinda yelped. "I love this!"

"Do you think he will take it well, though?" Nott asked. "Without any warning at all?"

"Yes," Marcus began, "I'm afraid he will be angry with our sons and daughters for not letting him in on it."

Lucius poured himself another glass while standing at the fireplace. "He will at first be difficult, be afraid he's not ready, and yes, be upset that everyone else knew. But when he sees her at that Inaugural Ball, my friends try not to stare at her and measure the look on his face, and you'll know. We'll all know. It will be like he was born for it. I've seen my son have his fair share of crushes. But this girl… She has a way all her own that if I were not married, well, I believe the term would be jailbait."

"And I think the term for that is three years in Azkaban," Goyle shouted.

"Here, here," said Nott cheerfully, raising his glasses. "To Draco and Aralyn."

"Now," Melinda said. "When do us ladies come into play?"

"Tonight," Lucius began. "Narcissa will approach Aralyn, tell her how she knew Odessa, build some trust with her, slowly bring her to terms with who her father was, and when we've finished with the Riddle Mansion, take her there to live, suggest an arrangement with Draco, which is when you all will join her. In the meantime, the gentlemen and I will be preparing him, as well."

"What I don't understand, Lucius," said Melinda. "Is how come you are telling him there will be time for courting later, if you're not telling him that he's about to be bound to that same woman?"

He smiled. "We're not telling him there's an arrangement of that sort involved. He'll be under the impression all the while we're just preparing him, and him alone. They won't see each other until the night of."

"But will she know about him?" Melinda asked.

"In a way, yes and then again no," Lucius replied. "She'll be under the impression she's being prepared for a wedding to Draco, but not the next Dark Lord, she'll have no idea the role she is about to take on as his Ladyship. The night-- will be just full of surprises."

"What if she doesn't cooperate when she finds out?" Nott asked, pulling out his knife.

"He'll be there to help get her through it. Besides, she knows already he was a Death Eater, she'll know by then that he's rejoined us. If she can deal with that much, it should not be too hard of a bridge to cross into accepting his new role."

"I hope it is that easy," Melinda said with a sigh. "I do hate difficult children."

"They're hardly children anymore," Lucius said. "They're our future. We must stop looking at them like children, and look to them instead as the leaders that Voldemort has trusted in them to be. They will need our guidance, but only for so long. Then we must know our time and place to let them guide us. Now if you'll excuse me, my friends, I have some household duties to attend to. Until next week then,"

With that said all the Death Eaters left, except one. Lucius put his drink down and reached across and put his hands on her hips. "Melinda…" he whispered. He drew her into his hips, and ground his mouth into hers.

"When's Narcissa due back?" she asked when they broke away.

"Long enough," Lucius said.


	6. Chapter 6

_Six_

It was five 'o clock in the afternoon when Aralyn finally finished taking her N.E.W.T.S. She would get her results back the next morning. Right now she couldn't decide if she felt up for a nap or some food in her stomach. Headache medicine wasn't an option though, that was for sure.

She made her way back up to her room and found her door unlocked. "Draco," she called. "Draco, are you in here?" She went to the guest room door and knocked. "Draco?"

"He went home," a silky feminine voice came from the living area. Aralyn jumped, how she hadn't noticed a woman sitting in the chair was beyond her, usually she was much more observant than that. The woman stood up and came out of the shadows. "Hello Aralyn, I'm Nar---"

"I know who you are." Aralyn crossed her arms. "What are you doing in my room?"

"I came to talk to you, about Draco… among other things."

"Well that's fine but you didn't have to break into my room." Aralyn said with a sigh. "Would you like something to drink, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Narcissa, please." She said with a smile. "Certainly dear."

Aralyn walked to the cabinet and sink area across the room. "Tea and honey okay?"

"Anything will do, thanks." Narcissa sat back down in the chair. And Aralyn joined her in the chair across. "Now," Narcissa began. "First of all, about Draco; Aralyn, my son is very fond of you. And that upsets me to see."

Aralyn chuckled. "And why is that, Narcissa? Am I not good enough for the Malfoy family?"

"My dear, you're wonderful. Even Lucius, in all his pride, would allow a Dumbledore to wed our son."

"Haven't you heard yet?" Aralyn paused to take a sip of her tea. "I'm not a Dumbledore."

"Yes…" Narcissa said. "I was well aware. I didn't know you were, however. That's what I came to tell you, but I see you already know then."

"Well, thank you, Narcissa for coming to discuss that with me, but you would be the third person to bring that to my attention."

"I see. But I did not learn this from a book, Aralyn. I know much more than that book possibly could have told you." Narcissa smiled. "Forgive my intrusion, but I would like very much to tell it to you."

"Oh?" she took another sip. _'What other bad news could this stay possibly bring?' _she wondered. "Certainly."

"Well Tom was a very, very powerful Death Eater. And we all knew about his relationship with Odessa. Bourne, her brother, didn't approve though. He felt that she was endangered enough by having family ties to them, let alone being involved with someone once considered our most dangerous member. But she wouldn't listen to Bourne and I. You see, Aralyn, your mother was my dearest friend. All the Death Eaters just recently found out about you, that Tom and Odessa ever had a child, but I have known before you were even born. I just didn't know what happened to you. I feared the worst. Odessa and Tom went away to Greece to have you. Everyone else assumed they were just on holiday, and Odessa died in labor. Tom lied to us, told us that the Ministry caught up with them and Odessa betrayed their identity in hopes for immunity and only he escaped. But I knew the truth, and with no baby to speak of, I thought it didn't need to be said that you had died too, with your mother."

"None of you had any clue that he had given me away?" Narcissa just shook her head.

"No, and believe me, had we known, there would have been an uproar among the Death Eaters."

"Right before Tom died, he requested that we find you. He told us everything… He's got a house he's left for you; it was his father's and his father before. It's quite beautiful. I know you have a home at Dumbledore's but, well, that would just make a dainty summer cottage compared to this. And you have a home with all of us, too, Aralyn…"

"You mean--- join the Death Eaters? Why would I ever---?"

"You don't have to join us, per say, Aralyn." Narcissa stood up. "I'm only here to give you more options."

"Well, that's an option I could do without." Aralyn was on her feet now too. "I couldn't possibly, after what they did to my grandfather."

"We have a theory, Aralyn, that Voldemort had him killed in an attempts to get to you. Your uncle Bourne was growing suspicious and started asking me questions, trying to find out if I knew anything else about the events surrounding the circumstances of your mother's death… Soon after, Voldemort had Bourne… done away with. He didn't die in the battle, Aralyn. But Draco doesn't know that, so I'm sorry he misinformed you." Narcissa went to the door and put her hand on the knob.

"Aralyn… Voldemort may have wanted to take advantage of you, but Draco wouldn't. He doesn't see some piece of Death Eater legacy worth claiming, he just sees you. I know you've only known each other a short while, but you're the first friend, especially female, that I've ever truly believed is a good person. My husband is about to make arrangements for a marriage for Draco. I would rather see him with someone he's come to be friends with that he could grow close to than see him stuck with a total stranger… Consider my offer, Aralyn. But I can only give you a week to do so. I hope to speak with you later. Good night." Narcissa opened the door at last and left the room.

Aralyn stared at the door after it closed, shocked. _'Narcissa Malfoy… wants –me- to betroth her son?'_ It was the most absurd thing she had ever imagined. But she thought about what she said, about friends who could grow closer, right now Draco was the only wizard she knew her age. She imagined if she were being put in his position. Before his health started fading, Albus made a mention or two of finding someone to make an arrangement with for her, and it had upset her quite a bit. She would be marrying a total stranger this summer if he were still alive. There were talks in the works with a woman by the name of Longbottom, whose grandson Aralyn had yet to meet. She shuddered at the thought.

'_This is crazy …'_ She thought. _'He's in league with the Death Eaters, you can't possibly agree to an arrangement with a man that comes home to you, not after a day at the office, but a night of raising hell, plundering homes, and murdering innocent people…'_ She sat down on the couch and held her head in her hands. _'Aralyn, what emotional mess have you gotten yourself into?'_

She told herself she would think no more about it tonight. 'There shouldn't even be anything to think about, Aralyn. It's completely out of the question.' One half was screaming, and the other was telling her she shouldn't refuse this just yet.

'Maybe I'll take your week to think on it, after all, Narcissa…'

Draco went downstairs to join his parents for dinner that evening and found his mother was not home yet. His father was nowhere to be found. He heard a clamor from their upstairs room. As he got close to the door he took a few steps towards, and stopped, listening carefully.

What he heard was enough to disgust him. That wasn't his mother in there with his father. Upset and distraught, he made his way downstairs, just in time to catch his mother coming in the entrance hall fireplace.

"Draco," she greeted him with a smile. "Where's your father? I need to speak to him, darling."

Draco spotted a women's traveling cloak hanging over the chaise in the parlor room behind his mom. "Umm, last I knew he was in the cellar choosing a bottle for tonight."

"Oh, great. Could you go get him, dear? I'm going to go upstairs and change into something more comfortable."

"Actually, mother, I was just headed upstairs. I could bring you something if you'd like?" He suggested. "Personally though, I know father planned on tonight being special or something or other. I rather think you look dashing, mum." And he kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh, thank you Draco. Yes, I suppose this will do until after dinner. Have Kyri and her daughters began preparing it yet?" She asked about the kitchen elves.

"They were waiting on the word from father about what you'd like this evening. You could always tell them on the way to the cellar, mum."

"Of course, I'll do that. I'll see you at dinner then." She nodded and headed to the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight he quickly ran into the parlor room, grabbed the traveler's cloak which instantly allowed him to recognize who it belonged to and raced up the stairs to his parents bed room, throwing open the door without knocking.

Lucius was putting his pants on and Melinda was lacing up her stockings. The two stopped and looked at Draco horrified. He just glared and threw the cloak at Melinda. "The two of you may want to get dressed a little quicker than that. Mother's home." Melinda's eyes widened. "I suggest you apparate out of here, Mrs. Goyle. And father, you should do the same to the wine cellar. I sent mum to find you down there. I reckon you've got thirty seconds if you're lucky." He closed the door behind him and ran back downstairs.

"Mum," he called, hoping she hadn't reached the cellar yet.

"Yes, dear?" She called from the kitchen.

"Come to think of it," he began, heading into the kitchen. "Have them prepare a soup for a side, please?"

"Draco, it's June, dear. Soup's are for winter." Narcissa chided.

"I know, but I'm really not in the mood for much else." He said.

"Are you ill, sweetheart?" She asked.

"Nonsense!" Lucius burst in the archway, looking well groomed and far from the disheveled mess he had been when Draco saw him only a minute ago. He even had a bottle of wine in hand. "He's just a picky eater, Cissy, dear, you know that." His father produced the bottle for Narcissa to see. "For you, my dear, your favorite." Lucius winked at Draco.

"Oh! Lucius," She kissed him. "Astoria… Thank you darling. I didn't know we had any of this left."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Neither did I father, where did you find that? Don't you usually save it for special occasions, anyways?"

Lucius narrowed his eyes at his son. "This is a special occasion, Draco, tonight---"

"Very special, indeed." Said Narcissa cheerfully, "I have the best news."

"Save it for dinner, dear." Lucius said, pecking her on the cheek. "Go set the table honey, please. I'd like a word with Draco."

"Of course, I'll let you have your men's talk." She smiled and headed out the room.

The two gentlemen said nothing for a while, and Draco spoke up first.

"Does Gregory know you're fucking his mother just days after his father's been killed? That's probably wine his father paid for, too, isn't it?"

A hand was quickly at his throat and Draco found himself pinned against the wall. "You say a word to your mother and I'll---"

"You'll do what father? You know she'll call for dissolution of your pathetic excuse for a marriage. You think you were showing her mercy by keeping her after she was unfaithful to you? All you did was imprison her here longer. You know she won't do the same for you. That's why you're scared of getting caught. You don't want to look like the unfaithful one."

Lucius let go of his grasp on Draco. "I don't want Melinda to get hurt. Her husband just died, can you imagine the scrutiny---"

"Then it's what she would deserve. She and Johan didn't even have an arranged marriage; they chose each other, didn't they? She's just an untamed whore." Draco spat.

"Don't speak of her that way!" Lucius said. "And what do you know about taming a woman, Draco. If I were your age and courting that Miss Aralyn of yours, she would already know her place so well that if I told her to jump she wouldn't ask questions, she would ask 'How high?' A real man can control even the most wanton of women---"

"Like you controlled mum?" Draco said through gritted teeth. The hand came across his face before he even saw it coming. He rubbed his jaw in agony and wiped the blood out of the corner of his mouth and glared at his father.

"You can go to your room, without dinner tonight, Draco." Lucius backed away and wiped his hands off with a towel. "I'll inform your mother it will be just the two of us this evening." And he left the kitchen and made his way down the hall to the dining room.

Draco continued to rub his jaw and finally pulled his grip of his other arm away from the counter, and drug himself up to his bedroom.

Narcissa was already seated at the table, waiting for her husband and son to join them, when Lucius entered alone. "How long will Draco be, dear?"

"He won't be joining us tonight, Cissy. He's in a rather… defiant, mood."

"You know how boys are at the age," She said, folding her napkin in her lap. "They're ready to be men, and parents aren't ready to see them grow up. The defiance just grows with them, if you don't let them grow on their own."

"I have had it with his disrespectful attitude towards me, Narcissa!" He slammed his fists on the tables. "It's time he learned to respect the place of the man of a household, or else he will never be able to run one on his own, let alone lead a whole group of men and women!"

"It will come to him in time, Lucius."

"I'm afraid it won't. I'm scared of what's to come for him Narcissa." He paused, wiping the corners of his mouth. "I have a request to ask of you,"

"Yes?"

"When you are all helping Aralyn through her… transition, do make certain to teach her to know the place of the Master of her house. If she does not learn it from all of you, I fear she will never learn it from him. Draco is too patient with her, too willing to take care of her every whim."

"Well," she replied. "I think it's good that he pays attention to her needs and wants, Lucius. Isn't that what a husband should do?"

"A husband's duty is to provide her with her needs, while taking care of his own. You give into a wife's wants when she's done something to deserve them, Narcissa. You should know that." He shoved a forkful of food in his mouth; Narcissa dropped hers.

"I see." She said firmly. "I don't imagine you think it's healthy that they argue with each other either, do you? Or do you also feel that a woman should be nothing but "Yes, dear" and "Of course, darling," And that be that?"

"And I see you are being just as difficult this evening as he is, Narcissa. You can excuse yourself and leave me to finish my dinner in peace, if you're not going to make respectable, pleasant conversation. This talk of a woman disrespecting her husband's position, it is ridiculous and is ruining my evening. Go into the bedroom, and wait for me there."

Narcissa stood up and threw her napkin on her dinner plate. "I'm not waiting up for you, Lucius Malfoy. And I won't wait on you any longer, either. Go to hell."


	7. Chapter 7

_Seven_

When Aralyn found Professor McGonagall the next morning to receive her tests scores, she was in for quite a shock.

"I just don't understand," she said. "Potions have always been my best area. How could I have done Outstanding on all of the others and only an Acceptable in Potions?!?"

"It was a puzzle to us as well, Aralyn." Minerva replied. "Every year when your final scores would come in after Albus would administer them to you, your best marks always came from Potions." She sighed. "Aralyn, you realize that with these scores, we cannot offer you the position here at Hogwarts."

"I understand Minerva…" Aralyn looked to her feet. "I'm sorry."

Minerva hugged her. "It's alright, darling. Just do be sure to come visit us once in a while then?"

"Of course," Aralyn promised. "I'm leaving now, Minerva. I'm going back to the cottage, gathering up some things, I'm going to go away for a while. There's a lot I need to find out---"

"Be careful what you wish for, Aralyn." Minerva warned. "The truth is most often not what we want to hear."

"I've heard the large bits already, but there are still some things, some stones, that have been left unturned. I need to know…" She said with a great sigh.

Minerva grabbed her shoulders. "Do you really, Aralyn? Isn't it enough, knowing what you know now?"

Aralyn searched her eyes. "What do you know, Minerva? Do you know something I don't?"

The professor let her hands dropped and turned around to look out the window over the grounds. "Anything I know that I could guess you do not… it wouldn't be my place to tell you, Aralyn."

"Why is everyone holding out on me?"

"Because the only person who can answer all those questions for you is someone you have not yet met."

"Who?"

"If the rumors that are spreading are true… then it means you will be told soon enough, and the Ministry is in for rough times once more." She took a deep breath and turned to face Aralyn once more. "I need you to promise me something, Aralyn."

"Anything, Minerva,"

"There may come a time soon when you have to choose between what your heart is asking you to do for yourself, and what your head is telling you to do for the lives of others."

Aralyn was quiet for a moment. "Which do you want me to choose?"

"I want you to always make the choice that you know you will feel more at ease about later." She went on. "Albus made a choice once, between those too, long before you can remember. And I don't think there has ever been a peace in him either way since. There may not have been if he had made the other choice, even. But sometimes, I wonder if the other would have served his peace of mind better in the long run."

"And what choice was this?" Aralyn whispered.

"Forgive me, Aralyn." Minerva started walking away. "I cannot tell you that either."

As she watched her back grow smaller in the distance, Aralyn understood suddenly. _'She meant the choice he made to take me…'_

Two days later, on a Monday, Draco came through the Floo line right into the Headmaster suite. He dusted himself off and called for her, "Aralyn?" and he froze.

The drawers were sitting on the bed, emptied. He ran into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet; all her glamour potions and meds were gone. He slammed it shut and the glass shattered.

"Tsk-tsk, my boy," the slivery voice came from behind her. "Wherever has your dear sweet companion gone?"

Draco turned on his father and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. "What did you do with her?" he said, barring his teeth.

Lucius shoved him off. "I've no idea what you're talking about," he rearranged himself. "Minerva McGonagall has informed me that she has taken off… to find herself or something like that."

"Taken off where?" Draco asked.

"She wouldn't say, she said. Only that she wanted to find out who her parents really were and what their connections to the Death Eaters were."

"You know, don't you?" He narrowed his eyes on his father. "You know exactly what happened to Odessa and this Tom fellow, don't you? Voldemort must have known! And he told you everything! What do you know? Where could she have gone?"

"I came here to tell you I spied her today at the Ministry headquarters, demanding to talk to Scrigemour. As if the Minister has time for a thing like that…"

"Did she say where she was headed to after?"

"I couldn't tell. She was escorted out by security." Lucius chuckled. "She made quite a stir, kicking her legs and screaming like a little girl. I do hope if you intend to court her Draco, you really do teach her some manners… Where are you going?"

Draco put on his cloak and out of thin air, his Death Eater mask, and placed it on his face.

"To Scrigemour," Draco said, heading to the fireplace.

"Like that? Have you lost your mind? You'll be arrested the moment you enter the Ministry. Draco!" he called after him. "Listen to me, I will not have you endangering this family!"

"You've endangered us for years!"

"In circumstances that I was capable of handling! You cannot go in there alone, demanding answers and expect not to be taken down." Lucius raised his hand, and Draco caught it.

"Then come with me."

A few moments later, two Death Eaters, father and son, were heading through the Floo to the Ministry headquarters.

In that same building, in a basement full of temporary jail cells reserved for what usually were prisoners awaiting a trial, Aralyn sat on a bench crying. She had been there for what felt like an eternity, but what must have only been a few hours. When a bailiff spoke up.

"Aralyn Dumbledore," She looked up. "You're free to go."

She looked confused as the bars disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Aralyn grabbed her possessions from behind the counter and headed around the corner, to see Rufus Scrigemour waiting for her. "My office, Aralyn. I will talk to you now."

She just nodded and followed him through the halls to the large triangular office in the center of the very top floor. "Thank you," she said as he opened the door to let her in.

"Don't thank me," he said. "Thank… these gentlemen."

And before her stood two masked Death Eaters. She immediately drew her wand on them. "STAY BACK!" She yelled.

"Aralyn," the shorter of the two said, "Please put the wand down. We just came to ensure you get the information you want."

She recognized the hard voice unmistakably and lowered it, but did not put it away. She looked to Scrigemour. "You told me you didn't know anything."

"It's nothing that I care to share, that's why." The Minister said, looking through a file cabinet behind his desk. "It's not something the Ministry is very proud of." He found the folder at last, with the words Highly Confidential--- M2M Information.

"What does that mean?" Aralyn asked. "M2M information?"

"This is minister-to-minister information, stays strictly between the last minister and the newest. Fudge conveniently never passed it onto me, though. He was supposed to, it's part of handing the torch I suppose you could say. I speculate he neglected to mention it because it was his own error."

"What is it?" She asked, noticing the two Death Eaters now circling around her and Scrigemour, she felt a hand pass over the small of her back as the shorter of the two made his way around her.

Scrigemour put his glasses on. "I will summarize it for you Aralyn; there is a lot of information here and I'm sure you just want the facts as they are, not as Fudge tried to alter them to save his own behind from the finger pointing that would be sure to come to him had anyone other than another Minister ever discovered this… However, I am not sure you will be comfortable with this information being revealed under these circumstances," He eyed the two Death Eaters, hinting to her.

"I see," she turned to them. "Thank you, but this is something I can do myself now. Thank you, though for asking him to talk to me,"

The shorter nodded and headed to the fireplace, the taller seemed hesitant, but the shorter grabbed his arm and pulled him his way and they left through the Floo.

Aralyn looked back to Scrigemour. "Tell me everything. Where did I come from?"

"Years ago, a man graduated from Hogwarts named Tom Riddle. He was a class bully in his days, and people like… Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange, the Avery's… all known Death Eaters and followers of Voldemort, were very much in the same way followers of Tom in school. At first when the Death Eaters emerged, right after many of those students would have graduated, there were speculations… but never could anything be proven. After a while, when the Ministry began catching up to them, And a few of them had been captured, the identities began pouring out. That's when we, the Aurors and Minister Fudge, decided amongst ourselves that our number one target, "The Dark Lord" as he was calling himself, must certainly be Tom Riddle."

Aralyn gasped. "My father… you believe he was Lord Voldemort?"

"We guessed at it, but there was one thing that put us in a stupor… You see, Aralyn, all these people that I just named to you; they were leading double lives. They still had jobs, friends, socialized and went about themselves normally to the public eye, and were different people when they put on the masks. Since his graduation, however, there had been no record at all of Tom Riddle. There was no place of residence and he wasn't employed anywhere… Many people had all but forgotten about him since those school days. Even in school, he was a good student, got great marks despite being a ringleader for all the troublemaking that went on. Otherwise, he had girlfriends in school, was quite the looker and was very sociable. He was Head Boy; the kind of kid you thought for sure was going to do something remarkable with his life. It just didn't make sense that if Tom were involved that he wouldn't be leading this double life as well. And Minister Fudge, having liked the boy very much at that time, didn't want to believe it. So he wrote it off and let it go."

"And that was the end of it?" she asked. "Nothing else has been found out?"

"Oh that was hardly the end of it, Aralyn. It seemed that once we threw out him as a suspect, that's when all the trouble really began. It wasn't just people throwing green skulls and snakes into the sky anymore, or running around burning things and leaving warnings for half-muggles and other non-purebloods to go into hiding. After that came the murdering, the raping… You can't imagine the amount of abortions St. Mungo's has done on women who were impregnated during all this pillaging. It was a very controversial issue back then. Everything was going so badly that the Ministry wasn't even focusing on the identity of the one behind it anymore, we were just trying to take out as many as we could and put an end to the violence. For a few months everything quieted down. It was odd; there had been no activity at all from the Death Eaters. It was like they were planning something…"

"And one night, at St. Mungo's, a night the Minister just happened to be checking in on all the healing victims, Tom Riddle burst in through the double doors in the same cloak that the Death Eaters wore, carrying a very pregnant and unconscious Odessa Avery into the Maternity ward. He said he was attempting to deliver the child on his own, in a vacation home in Greece, and that she went unconscious and he was worried because there was a lot of blood. The Healers quickly went to work on her, and got the child out safely. They even restored Odessa to her previous health. Fudge put two and two together and told everyone to leave the room. He told Tom he didn't want to do this in front of everyone else. Says here in the notes that he told him "You have a family of your own now, Tom. Just think of all the families you've destroyed, as well. Other people's children and wives who were loved just as much as you love Odessa."

Aralyn was crying silently now while she listened to Scrigemour's story.

"But Tom pleaded with Fudge, and swore up and down that is was not him, claiming that he's just a Death Eater. He told Fudge that if he just let the three of them leave, they would flee. 'Come on, Minister.' He had said. 'You know the others will be after us anyways for coming here, and compromising our identities. Please let us get a head start.' And that's when all the doubt that Fudge had before, and all the belief that Tom couldn't possibly really be the one behind all this, came flooding back in. And he let them leave."

"But if they all left together, why was I put in Albus' care?" Aralyn asked.

"The story does not end there, Aralyn." He sighed. "We can only guess as to what happened. A couple's quarrel, perhaps Odessa was pleading with Tom to go back and turn himself in… we don't know. But days later, a muggle in Greece called their police about a disturbance in the home next door. And they found a female body. They didn't know who she was obviously, having been born of the wizarding world and never having an identity in the muggle world. She was tagged as what the muggles call a 'Jane Doe'. Well when Fudge heard about it, in an effort to hide from all suspicious, he declared you and your parents missing persons, and after three years the case was shut. No one has since thought twice about, or pursued Tom Riddle as the Dark Lord ever again. When Albus Dumbledore informed Fudge that Tom Riddle was in fact not missing, and brought you in claiming that Riddle himself gave you to him to raise, Fudge wouldn't hear anything of it. And when the paper's reported of Dumbledore receiving a baby, there was no mention of Tom or the orphanage. The article instead read as if you were left on Dumbledore's doorstep. And that, Aralyn, is where the story ends."

"All of this, Potter losing his family, all the murders since… You're telling me that all of it would have never happened if Fudge would have just done his job?"

Scrigemour nodded solemnly. "For a very long time, Fudge was under much scrutiny. However, after the Potter family murder, and the seemingly demise of Lord Voldemort, the people acted as if nothing had ever happened, as if Fudge had been some sort of great hero all the while."

Aralyn just stared at the floor, her nails digging into the arms of the chair.

"Aralyn," he said. She looked up at him. "I want you to imagine though, what your life would have been like had he taken them into custody then, after all. Surely your father would have suffered at the lips of the Dementor's Kiss, and your mother may have been in Azkaban for quite some time as well, just for being an accessory… Who knows, Aralyn, where you may have ended up… or as what?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, orphaned circumstances were the same ones that made your father so angry with society, too. If you had been raised like that… I'm just saying that sometimes bad things, terrible things, happen to save just one soul from something that could have been much worse."

"And all the souls that suffered at the hands of it, instead?"

"Perhaps a sacrifice, perhaps the fuel you need to keep yourself going. You're a remarkable girl, Aralyn, a true Dumbledore even without the bloodline. You'll go far. Perhaps great things are to come for you. Think about it, if Harry Potter hadn't lost his parents, Voldemort would still be causing us grief, and the Boy-Who-Lived would have just been an ordinary boy."

Aralyn nodded, understanding now what she must do.

"Are you going to be okay, Aralyn?" he said in concern.

"I'm going to be just fine, Minister. For the first time in my life, I am sure that you are right. There are great things ahead for me. It won't end here." She grabbed her cloak and headed to the fireplace.

"What won't, Aralyn?"

"You saw it yourself, Scrigemour. There are still Death Eaters out there," she said, staring into the flames. "The war isn't over yet."

And she leapt into the flames, and disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

_Eight_

A very tired, very wide-eyed Rufus Scrigemour sat at his desk, having a cup of coffee and still looking through all the information on Tom Riddle.

"Aralyn…" he whispered to himself. "I'm afraid child that this path I fear you are about to take, is not the one we all saw for you when we said we knew there would be great things before you. Not at all…" He looked to a small painting on his right. "Albus, what should we do?"

"Do nothing yet, Rufus. She may surprise us, after all." Albus Dumbledore's painting said, but even he looked worried.

"Draco Malfoy has embraced being a Death Eater, and he is clearly fond of her. She obviously returns the affection… without any objection to his being a Death Eater. That was a surprise enough for me, Albus."

"They may both surprise us," Albus replied.

"But, Albus… If the rumors are true,"

"If the rumors are true--- then we must remember they are just children. The Death Eaters can place the blame on them all they want for any destruction that may come after… after the inauguration. But you and I both know, Rufus, that they are really just puppets slave to the control of Lucius Malfoy."

"A trial will not see it that way, Albus." Rufus sighed. "Tom Riddle was only just out of school when he led them…"

"Then we can only hope," the portrait replied. "That their hesitance, and their innocence will see them through before the others corrupt them and turn them too far away from the light, Rufus."

"Yes, Albus…" The Minister said, staring into the flames. "We can only hope."

Draco and Lucius sat beside the fireplace that evening in the Malfoy Parlor, sharing a bottle of liquor. "He knows it was us," Draco said. "You and I both know he knew damn well."

Lucius just smiled and opened another cigar, tossing its clear wrap into the fireplace and watching it burn. Finally he got down on his knees beside the flames and leaned his cigar into them while holding it in his mouth. After blowing a ring, he sat down. "Of course he knows, Draco. But do you know why he doesn't do anything about it?"

Draco just shrugged. Lucius smiled once more. " It is because he's heard the rumors, Draco, ones that we've made sure to let slip out… of a new Dark Lord. There's a fear spreading in the Ministry, and eventually it will reach the general population. And then we will have them right where we want them, for our first big grand entrance."

"Planning that far ahead already, father?" Draco said, lighting a cigarette. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were behind all this… that you were next in line."

"Heavens no, Draco. I'm far too… experienced, for that. No, Lord Voldemort chose someone with many years on me… Someone who can grow into the position, learn it inside and out."

"Would it not make sense to choose someone experienced, as you say?" Draco was puzzled.

"In some ways, perhaps." Lucius replied. "But in other ways, think of what we all could teach someone younger. And we all know young people are much more aware, give more thought to things… of a sharper mindset, you know?"

"I suppose so, father." Draco replied. After a while, he asked, "So what is this big grand entrance?"

"Draco… Draco you know I can't tell you that yet." He chuckled. "All in good time, my boy. Now, I am going to head upstairs. There's a feisty woman up there who needs some… persuading."

"Is that what you call smacking a woman around?" Draco muttered under his breath. Lucius turned to him, arm raised. Draco turned his face, expecting the blow. But Lucius lowered his arm instead.

"No, Draco… I won't hit you anymore. You will learn soon enough, and you will understand soon enough, the desire to see a woman--- your woman--- behaving the way she should, properly. The first time Aralyn disrespects you, the first time she walks away from you spouting off things she won't say to your face, that she wouldn't dare! … Oh yes, you will understand. And the first time you want what is by all means your husbandly right in the bedroom, and she's being… difficult… you will know then, too, the need to have a handle on your woman."

"If she respects you enough, you can have a handle on her without having to lay a hand on her, father." Draco stood up. "That's how I see it… And what is all this talk of Aralyn and I? I haven't even properly begun courting her yet… You told me to wait."

"Yes," Lucius replied. "I did. You should wait for her to come to you, Draco. She will, son, mark my words… Where else does she have to go, whom else does she have to turn to? Or haven't you heard? Her offer at Hogwarts has, unfortunately, been withdrawn. Poor girl… The board and myself reviewed her N.E.W.T.S. results and, well; I felt they just weren't… up to par. With a little influence, the board agreed, naturally… Where else does she have to go now, but crawling to you."

Draco narrowed his eyes on his father. "Why would you do that? She was looking forward to that! Potions is all she dreams about---"

"They're silly dreams, Draco. Her place as an Avery and as the daughter of---" He stopped himself. "This is where she belongs, son, with the Death Eaters. You've made a friend in her, she trusts you. Surely I wouldn't want to see the child end up anywhere else."

Draco threw on his cloak, and reached for the Floo powder, but his father grabbed him. "What are you doing, boy?!" he shouted.

"She deserves to know," Draco yelled. "You can't just fuck with people's lives like that father!"

"I did that for YOU!" Lucius growled. "Ha! She knows more than you do right now, do you think there is anything you could possibly tell her that she doesn't know after that visit to Scrigemour's office. No, Draco, I am sure what she left their knowing will be enough to bring her to you. I didn't even have to mess with her marks; the results would be the same either way. Now that she knows everything."

"What does she know that I don't?" Draco demanded, and Lucius turned on him, backing him into the chair.

"Have you any idea, even, who Tom Riddle is, Draco? Why that is the only name of all the Death Eaters you know, and believe me, you have met them all, that you don't recognize? Have you given any thought at all boy, as to who her father was?"

"N—n—no…" Draco was worried now; the devilish look in his father's eyes was a look he only saw when his father was about to reveal something terrible, and evil. "Why?"

"Draco, if I told you that Aralyn Marvala Riddle, daughter of Tom Marvalo Riddle, is the only living heir of Slytherin now, what would that mean to you?"

He thought it over a minute and then his eyes went wide and he looked up at Lucius in horror. "No!" he shouted. "She couldn't possibly---"

"Yes, Draco." Lucius laughed. "Your sweet, beautiful, innocent little Aralyn is the only blood relative, the only daughter of our Lord Voldemort, may he rest in peace."

"And she knows now? Scrigemour? He — he knew about it?" Draco was furious. "YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS?"

"We all did, Draco. And you would have, too, if you weren't hiding like a coward with her in Dumbledore's Cottage. He told us the night before the battle, the night he told us who would be the next Dark Lord, the night he killed her only other relative, Bourne Avery, so that she would have no one to turn to, and made his wishes to me about finding her, and ensuring that she would be in our custody, that we would show her the ways of the Death Eaters, teach her all he ever wanted her to know."

"It's her isn't it?" Draco protested. "She's the next Dark Lord, isn't she?"

Lucius laughed so hard he began holding his sides.

"This isn't funny! You think this is funny? She's just a girl! An innocent, untainted---"

"For now, Draco! But you're going to change all that!" Lucius said, a seriousness filling his expression again. "I had, with the Dark Lord, planned an arranged marriage to her for you. Imagine how much it tickled us all to know that you two had been introduced already thanks to Snape's idiot idea to hide you? And that you had become friends already? It all worked out perfectly, Draco. And you are NOT going to fuck this up, boy. Do you hear me?" Lucius placed his cane under Draco's chin and tilted it back. "Look at me son… It is the fate that has been graciously bestowed upon you. Do not be an ungrateful twit and piss it all away and embarrass this family. You are going to 'make nice' with Aralyn, and make this transition as comfortable as possible for her, so that she can handle the duty she is about to take on."

Draco gulped, breathing heavily now. He was choking. "Are we clear?"

He nodded, and Lucius removed the cane from his throat. "Good. Now," he began, clearing his own throat. "In a few days time, I would reckon, she will show up here. Your mother did wonderfully the other night and has already put the idea in Aralyn's head. And since we all know that absence does make the heart grow fonder, you are in no way to have any contact with her until she comes around to this on her own. It is fair to say that if she does, and she will, then you can hardly say I'm 'fucking with someone's life' because she came here herself. And then, I do hope, you will be more cooperative about this, my son."

"And if she doesn't come?" Draco asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"I hardly believe she's even considering that an option right now, Draco. But she has four days to decide, and rest assured she's counting them." And Lucius headed out of the room, muttering quietly over his shoulder, "If she's smart, she won't think of any other options."

Draco massaged his throat and gasped out. "Aralyn… I'm so sorry…" And for the first time since he had met her, he wished he hadn't.

Three days later, back at the Dumbledore cottage, Aralyn was packing all of her clothes and most prized possessions into a Shrink Case, for light travel, when she heard a loud noise come from the first floor parlor. _'The fireplace,'_ she thought. _'I'm sure that was the poker falling over'._ She'd heard that sound many times when Albus would come and go. She drew out her wand and ran down the stairs, making no effort to be sneaky. "Who's there?" she called out. "I know someone's here."

But after a whole twenty minutes of turning all the downstairs lights on and finding nothing, or no one except the fallen over poked stick, Aralyn returned upstairs. She found none other that Narcissa Malfoy seated on her bed, looking at her pictures and possessions that she had put in the suitcase.

She looked up and smiled. "Twenty minutes later," she said with a chuckle. "If you hadn't run out the door so quickly, you would have seen me apparate here to your room just a moment later than you took off. I thought I would just wait until you return and let you have your fun chasing ghosts."

Aralyn sighed. "Don't people ever make their presence's known anymore? Or is it the new hip trend to sneak up on people and give them heart attacks."

"Forgive me, Aralyn. I didn't mean to upset you." She put the picture she was looking at down. "How are you?"

Aralyn opened her mouth to answer, but Narcissa went on before she had the chance. "Going somewhere?"

"I wasn't sure yet." Aralyn lied, looking to the floor.

But Narcissa waved in her hands the pamphlet that clearly read G R E E C E on the front of it. "Whatever would interest you there, Aralyn?"

"You know what." Was all she said in return.

"That's one ghost, you ought not to waste your time chasing, Aralyn. What's done is done. Seeing a tombstone without a name on it won't make it any better for you."

"You've been there then?" Aralyn asked. "You knew the whole time, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, once... I am sorry, Aralyn. But I'm the sort of woman who would just rather leave some things buried… Some memories aren't fit to relive, or to retell." Narcissa sighed. "Please don't think badly of me for not telling you, and don't take this out on Draco. He has no idea and he's so eager to see you."

"I can't…" Aralyn said, tears welling in her eyes. "I can't accept your offer Narcissa. Draco is a wonderful young man, and I know that whomever he ends up with will be very fortunate. You are a very wealthy and pureblood family, but I--- I don't even know him at all that well. I can't very well agree to wed the first gentleman my age that I meet. There are other people out there and---"

"Do you really want to take that chance, Aralyn?" Narcissa said. "Besides, Draco has gone through some of the same points you just have and he still is willing to---"

"Did he?" Aralyn was surprised. "You mean, he knew about this offer to? I thought perhaps…"

"What? That I would offer you this, but not tell my son? I told you Aralyn, I wanted someone for him that he would want to be with too. It's not like I met you and thought 'Oh, look here, Draco's made a little friend. Would you like to marry my son, sweetheart?'" Narcissa crossed her arms and shook her head. "And for Lucius to actually agree with me on something for once…"

"I'm sorry you went through all that, Narcissa. But there's too much, excuse the pun, bad blood here. I was raised to believe in a cause that entirely goes against one that your family has murdered for. How am I supposed to marry into that kind of lifestyle?"

"Do you think you're the only woman that would be a wife of a Death Eater that hates what her husband does? The only one who shudders sometimes when her husband would come home and put his hands all over her, wondering what they were doing only hours before? Do you think the love I have for Lucius doesn't feel… tainted… at times? We've all been through it at one point, Aralyn, especially your mother! But we stand beside them because at heart they are good men, they are just fighting for something they believe in!"

"And look, Narcissa! My mother died because she became involved with a man, the worst of all of them, who believed in that!"

"Your mother was not killed because of a difference of beliefs, Aralyn." Narcissa said, tears forming in her eyes. "She was killed because you were not a boy."

"What?"

"It's that way for all of us… 'Give us firstborn sons!' They all say…" Narcissa was crying now. "I always wanted a beautiful daughter. When I was pregnant for the first time, I had not yet broken the news to Lucius yet, and I found out at one of my routine checkups that it was a girl… I got an abortion. I knew it's the only option Lucius would have left me with. When I became pregnant with Draco a few months later, and found out it was a boy, I was so happy. I couldn't bear that again… And after Draco came, I asked Lucius if we could try once more, so that I could have a daughter. 'No, Cissy, dear... One son, one son is all we need.' And he had my tubes removed so that he would hear no more of it." Aralyn went to her side and put her arm around her.

"Narcissa, I— I don't know what to say." After a long pause, Narcissa continued.

"And then, when I discovered what happened to Odessa almost a year later… You see, the Healers at St. Mungo's had told her she had a boy on the way… And when I thought he murdered you when you came out a girl… I was so grateful I did not decide to keep my daughter, carry her, give birth to her, and live to see her killed for being born a female."

"And you think I would marry Draco and want to go through that, too, if I were ever expecting a child? The worry of---"

"Oh no, dear!" Narcissa said. "Before you, Draco was the only one who knew about my previous pregnancy. Even Lucius does not know. When he was ten, Draco was asking for a younger brother or sister, and I explained it to him. My son and I are very close, Aralyn. I've raised him better than that. A healthy child would for him, be a happy one to have… That's not in Draco to be that way…" Narcissa stood up now.

"Look, Aralyn. My son cares about you. He holds you dear. And if you let him, I know he would be the kind of man to put you on a pedestal and make sure you're heart is content until his gives out. Tomorrow I must come to Lucius with an answer… Please, Aralyn. I was going to be your Godmother, you know. It was the last thing your mother told me before she left for Greece. Trust me. Trust my son… He's got a lot in front of him, he needs a good woman like you."

Aralyn just nodded a goodbye, as Narcissa apparated into the air. She lay down on the bed, grabbed the pamphlet once more… and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

_Nine_

The next day was agony for Draco. Four days now he'd been locked in his room. He couldn't use magic of any sorts; his father had taken his Owl from him, and if he touched the doorknob a pain so fierce it ripped through his body and brought him down to his knees would hit him. His mother came up every day with breakfast and dinner, and always stayed to eat the first with him. This morning she opened his door set it inside his room and closed it behind her.

'_Something must not have gone right last night.'_ Draco nervously ran his hands through his hair, worried sick for Aralyn. _'Oh Merlin, please let her be safe.'_

But when one came and no lunch was brought, he was even worse off. Dinner usually came at seven, but this day his mother came in with a larger than usual meal at five instead, and sat down with him.

"I'm so sorry Draco that there was no lunch to be brought. There was an early dinner tonight, it's a big night." She said. "I'll try to stay here as long as I can. Hopefully your father won't notice my absence."

He just nodded and took a bite into a roll. He was starving. That's when he noticed what she was wearing. "Mom!" he said incredulously. "Is that muggle evening wear?"

"Yes, it is." She laughed. "Your father is having a party tonight. It's all tuxedos and evening gowns. I wish he would let you come down. We are having a fantastic time. It's Friday the thirteenth, Draco. Didn't you know?"

Then it made sense. His father always threw these things on Friday the Thirteenth. A raid always followed them.

"Without Aralyn to lead them, what do they plan on doing afterwards?"

"Well I'm not sure what the men are doing, but us women are all going out for a bit of male entertainment this evening. It's going to be so fun, we're going to---" And then she stopped. And looked at Draco oddly. "Draco… who told you Aralyn would be the next Dark Lord, or lady I suppose."

"Father did, who else?" Draco said. "You didn't know?"

"No… I was under the impression… Never mind." She stood up. "I have to get down there. I need to have a word with your father."

"Mum," he called after her. "Please don't do anything foolish. I know he'll just hurt you. Please don't mention that I repeated that to you."

She sighed. "Draco… son, tonight is sure to be a big night for you too. Don't worry about me. If anyone should be obedient to your father right now, believe me son, it's you."

He nodded. "I understand, mum. I just hate when he touches you…"

Narcissa smiled. "If you mean that, Draco… Remember that when you have a woman someday. That's the only way you could ever make it up to me." She reached around and hugged him. "I will see you in the morning, darling."

"Good night, mum."

"Goodnight."

Lucius called for attention sometimes around eight o'clock. "Gentlemen," he said with a sigh. "I know you're all having a wonderful time this evening, and I thank you for letting my wife and I be your hosts, and as usually thank you to Marcus for the entertainment." Everyone laughed and roared. "But please man, for Gods' sakes, learn to put the bottle down and take a breath." Laughter again. "Now then, men, we must away into the parlor for talk of business, but not before we take our ladies out to their carriages that await to take them to ogle men half the age, but not half as good looking," he winked, "as all of us, right?"

And with hearty laughs and cheers, the men of the party led all their women outside, waved them off and filed back into the parlor room. All took seats, but Lucius, who returned in cloak and holding his mask. "Boys!" He looked to Vincent, Gregory, and some of the others. "Tonight… you're men." The men all laughed. The boys all looked anxious and nervous. They transformed quickly into their cloaks and had their masks in their hands. "Fathers, will you be joining me to Chaperone, tonight?"

"Just me this evening, Lucius." Marcus stood up wobbly with a smile and a raised glass. The rest of the men all laughed

"Anyone who's not overly intoxicated?" Lucius said with a grin. "No one? Hmm, very well then. Perhaps it's better I take the boys and sit back while they do this themselves, anyways."

Nott stood up, motioning to his son, Frederic. "Don't let me down, Freddie."

"Yes," said McNair. "Nicholas, Freddie, Vince and Gregory… take care of your new Lord tonight. Do ensure he has a good time with his new… bride to be." More laughter. "And don't be afraid to encourage him, or even step in if he doesn't seem like he has a handle on it," he added with a wink.

Lucius smiled, but said in a serious tone. "I'm quite sure this is one thing Draco can do all alone, but," he looked to the boys. "Do feel free to cheer him on."

The boys laughed and high-fived one another. "Let's go pay him a visit, shall we?" The boys sniggered and followed Lucius quietly up the stairs.

Draco lay in bed, reading when the knock came to his door. He sat up curiously. "Come in," he said. He looked up to see five hooded figures entering his room, masks in hand. "Father?" he said. "Guys? … What's going on?"

His father tossed him a mask. But this wasn't an ordinary mask. This was one strictly reserved for someone else. Draco shoved it away quickly.

"We're paying a little visit to your girlfriend tonight, Draco." Lucius sneered. "Won't you like that? I know its been hell for you since you've seen her last. It's been at least a week now, hasn't it?"

"I won't give this to her, I won't talk her into it!" Draco said, standing up.

Lucius laughed. "Draco, come now, be serious. Do you really think that Lord Voldemort would pick a woman, even if his own daughter, but never the less--- A WOMAN to take over for him? He picked a man, Draco. A man he sees potential in, vigor… ambition. A man with the skills and brains needed to keep this organization of ours afloat… The kind of man he would choose to give away his only daughter to."

Draco's mouth went ajar while he attempted to take in everything his father said. And when it all hit him he felt an instant headache. "You can't possibly mean--- Me? ME?"

Lucius smiled. "You, Draco. Why do you think I've been so hard on you lately? I couldn't be prouder of you, my son. And tonight, you are going to go and collect what is rightfully yours. You can even take your husbandly rights early if you want," he laughed. "I wouldn't blame you."

"Neither would we," Nicholas said.

"Wouldn't mind a show either," Vince said with a laugh. The rest of the boys joined in.

"Why are they going with me?" Draco asked.

Lucius pursed his lips. "Nicholas and Freddie are going to keep watch, Crabbe and Goyle are going to enter the house with you, but I have already informed them that they are to follow your every order and only come with you if they are called. This is something you should be able to handle yourself, my son. But… you are the new Dark Lord. They are yours to order as you see fit. They've been elected as your new temporary guard. You can always select and rearrange the members as you see fit after the inauguration."

Draco stood up now and was pacing, thinking over everything that he was being told. His whole life changed in the matter of months. He went from being one of the newest members, and taking orders with no protest… To now being at the top of the totem pole. It was too much for him. The headache was worsening.

"Consider this your rite of passage Draco." Lucius said. "Everyday from now until the ceremony next week you will be spending all of your time with us. Tonight will be this first night until then that you see Aralyn. I was only kidding about the husbandly rights, by the way… She really does look like she'd be worth the wait." He chuckled. "We have a lot to teach you, my son. But in a week from now, I promise, you and Aralyn both will be quite ready."

"Both? Why? What's happening to Aralyn in the meantime?" Draco asked, worriedly.

"She'll be in your mother's company constantly, Draco. Don't worry about her. She and the other women will be… showing her the ropes, we'll say. Just ensuring that you two have a long and happy life together. Both as man and wife, and a Lord and his Lady…" Lucius walked towards him, and reached for the mask Draco was now holding again. "May I?"

Draco nodded, handing it to him. Lucius ran in through his fingers, admiring it, and finally handed it back to Draco. "Make me proud, son."

Draco looked at it and took a step back, concentrated and transformed into his cloak. He looked at the mask in his hands, and then up at his father. "I just need them tonight, father." He said, nodding towards his guard.

"When we are in our attire, Draco… it is Counselor. We don't want to give our identities away, do we?" Again, he nodded to Lucius. After a long moment's pause, he looked back up from his feet.

"Guard," he spoke to others. "Nott, McNair you will stay outside as… as the Counselor proposed before. Crabbe, Goyle… You will stay downstairs by the fireplace. I want you watching the Floo at all times. And do –not- follow me or take it upon yourself to investigate unless I yell specifically for you. Are we understood?"

"Yes," the voices rang out in unison, only Gregory adding, "My Lord."

Draco took a deep breath and a step towards them, flipped his hood up, and placed the cold mask on his face. It fit better than his previous had. An instant sensation came over him. It was… intoxicating. He smiled. "Then let's go."

Minutes later, the five hooded figures appeared several yards away from the outside of Dumbledore's Cottage.

"Draco," Nott spoke up as they walked to the front door. "I mean—My—my lord?"

Draco stopped, but didn't turn around. "You don't have to call me that Nicholas."

"But we want to," said Gregory. "We're happy for you, Draco."

"You're not all happy for me," he turned around and shot a look at Vincent, whose eyes went wide. "Crabbe, I think I'll have you and Nicholas stay out here instead. Freddie and Gregory, you two can come in with me."

"Yes.. my lord," muttered Crabbe.

Draco, Nott and Goyle continued to the door. "Shh." Draco said, pressing an ear to the door. He turned the knob quietly and it opened. "Hurry in, but quiet."

He showed the two Death Eaters to the fireplace. "Stay right here, and remember, do NOT come unless I call for you by name."

They nodded. And Draco went into the entrance hallway, and back up the stairwell, to the third floor. Her bedroom door was shut, but a dim light shone through the threshold. He closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could, while looking at his hands, and slowly his whole body turned invisible. It was a trick Death Eaters passed down to each other. One of the beneficial perks. When he was certain his clothes were concealed too, he opened the door as quietly as he could, and saw that Aralyn was asleep in her bed, a candle burning beside her. There were several suitcases sitting at the foot of the bed. Somehow he knew she hadn't packed because she was coming to be with him. He actually felt a pang of anger knowing she was going to leave. He could feel the blood rushing through his temples. He got closer to her bed, reached out and stroked her arm and then it happened. Moments later he jumped back with a gasp.

He saw everything. Her dreams had literally jumped into his mind. He could see himself, and her, and she was begging him to give it all up, to just stop. And then the green light came. She was having a nightmare with him in it, and he had just killed her. He looked to the door a moment and thought about leaving her here, but he knew that if he didn't return with her, the others would come for her and they would not be as courteous as he wanted to be. Draco thought a moment that perhaps it would be better not to wake her up, but then that would be highly unlikely. He considered stunning her, but he really didn't want to be so harsh about it. Without another thought he grabbed a hold of her waist and threw her over his shoulder.

And then the screaming started. He cringed as he carried her down the stairs over his shoulder. "GUARD!" He yelled and Goyle and Nott appeared at the bottom of the stairway. "Go upstairs and grab her bags, please. Wand too!"

"Yes, my---" Draco cleared his throat to hint to them not to say anything. They nodded and headed up the stairwell. He kicked down the front door and Crabbe and McNair looked wide-eyed and surprised.

"Wow!" McNair said. "Bloody good work that was!"

"Quick too," added Crabbe. "Good show, man."

"Get inside and make sure they're competent enough to get her bags," Draco yelled over the screaming girl on his back. He waited until they both were inside to pull her off his shoulders and into his arms, trying to support her weight with one arm; he pulled out his wand with another, lifted his mask and placed the tip of it under her chin.

"Aralyn, really," he said. She gaped at him and went quiet now. "I do NOT want to stun you, but the screaming is really getting on my fucking last nerve. Do be a dear and cooperate, love. Seriously. It's just fucking annoying and no one's going to hear you."

Her open mouth went all ajar as she stared at him. "And staring is rude!" He pulled the mask back down over his face and heard her whisper his name before she fainted. "Or we can go unconscious on our own, I suppose that's a more humane way of doing and saving me the guilt. Won't argue with that one." He looked over his shoulders. "BOYS!" A few seconds later they came running out, bags in hand.

"Sorry," said an exasperated Goyle. "They're heavy. She doesn't travel light."

"And you think she IS?" Draco huffed.

"Umm, Draco?" Freddie spoke up.

"What?!" he shouted back.

"Aren't you going to put her in something a little more… appropriate?"

Draco looked to the girl in his arms and saw that she had on a matching violet lacy bra and panty set. He looked back up to the boys who were all clearly staring and glared.

"Or," said Freddie, "You know what, she looks fine like that and erm, we could just not pay any attention. Yep."

Draco nodded firmly. "I think I like that option better. Now let's GO! MOVE IT!"

As quickly as they came, the five young men disappeared into the wind, returning to Malfoy Manor.


	10. Chapter 10

_Ten_

When Draco appeared holding the half naked woman in his arms in the parlor room, everyone was quiet. The cigar fell out of Nott Sr.'s mouth and into his lap.

"Ow ow ow!" He started patting it out. Everyone laughed and cheered.

"Damn, Draco," Duncan Crabbe, (Marcus' brother and Vincent's uncle) said. "I know you should be proud of yourself but don't you think you should have at least put her back in something decent?"

Everyone laughed. Lucius chipped in. "It's only been ten minutes, Crabbe, I wouldn't be that proud." Everyone laughed again.

"She sleeps like this," Draco said with a glare. The laughter subsided but the men still stared at her like a piece of meat.

"Bellatrix slept like that, too." Nott said. "And we all remember what she was like. Mmm."

"Yeah, Draco!" Marcus called out. "Have fun with that one. Feisty…" Laughter's filled the room, but Draco didn't hear them as he carried her up the stairs to his room.

As he turned the door to open his suite, her eyelashes fluttered softly. He removed his mask quickly before she completely came to and rushed in the doorway, laying her on the chaise.

"Draco…" she whispered again. He kneeled down beside her.

"Just relax, Aralyn." He said, brushing her hair out of her face. "Sleep if you wish."

He got up and went to the door, to find his father standing in the doorway. "My…" He whispered to Draco. "She is indeed a pretty thing. You know, not that you are in any way obligated to, but Lord Voldemort often let some of us---"

"No." Draco said firmly, but quietly.

"Come now, Draco. Odessa was his most beloved and cherished. He planned on marrying her. And even I---"

"I said no." He crossed his arms.

Lucius smiled and nodded. "Ever the romantic… but as you wish. Don't let her sleep in too late tomorrow. She's leaving in the morning."

"For where?"

"Her father's mansion." Lucius said. "That is where she and your mother and the other women will be staying the rest of the week."

"In that filthy place?" Draco snarled.

"We're holding the Inauguration there, Draco. I think you'll be surprised to find just how very nice it cleans up."

"Oh?"

"Oh indeed." Lucius smiled. "You didn't expect that you would be the new leader of the Dark World and be living with your parents still, did you?"

"You mean, I—we—"

"Consider it one of many gifts from him to you. There is much he wanted you to have, Draco. And by the way--- how did this evening go? Any… new talents that you've happened to pick up?"

"How did you know?" Draco said, assuming his father must know about the dream, and the vibe he got from Crabbe.

"I helped him do it. He wanted to preserve some of his own powers, exclusive to him, in that mask. Unfortunately it's not as if whoever puts it on will inherit them. No… only you could receive them. And there's more where that came from." He nodded to Aralyn.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked. "Aralyn, he's left some for her too?"

"Haha, no my son. She is the gift, the power, all her own. You see, you may not know it looking at her, but Aralyn is a very powerful girl. She is a parselmouth, an extraordinary occulumens, and for all I know there maybe even more to her than that. But what I do know is that when you… take her, Draco, all her powers… all her skills… they will be yours too. They… transfer."

"She won't have them anymore?" Draco looked at her sleeping on his couch. "I couldn't do that---"

"She'll still have them. But you will too." Lucius winked. "And all that Lord Voldemort passed onto you through the mask… that will someday go to your children, and their children. Can you imagine all the power?"

Draco's eyes went wide. "Like I said," Lucius continued. "I wouldn't blame you should you choose to have her tonight. Besides, looking as tempting as that, I'd almost say she was asking for it." He laughed softly.

Draco considered the possibility a moment, but Lucius interrupted. "And Draco," he looked up to his father. "Do be sure to watch your temper. You think I'm hard on your mother… You have no idea the low tolerance Voldemort had for a woman's disrespect."

"Why would that matter to me?"

"He confided in me, the night I helped him with the mask… He said that when he put on the mask often he found himself even more cruel than usual. His temper wasn't normal. Nothing was. He said he didn't feel himself. He felt better… invincible, was the word he used. When he took the mask off, everything felt normal again. Lord Voldemort told me that since everything else would transfer when you put on the mask for the first time, that he feared that would too... I'm only telling you this Draco, so that you are aware of the changes that may start taking shape in you… So you are prepared when they do."

"I understand," Draco nodded.

"I won't keep you any longer." Lucius said with a nod and a bow. "Goodnight… my lord." And he closed the door behind him.

Draco inhaled deeply, and looked back to the couch. She slept so peacefully, but everything else about her just disturbed him. When he looked at her before he saw a pretty teenage girl, but now as he gazed at her barely covered figure he saw a woman. Her breast were practically popping out of her bra, and the tight lace front of her panties embraced her small curves of her most precious spots… Something came over him and suddenly he felt very hot, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, and he could feel the tightening of his pants around his groin. He'd never looked at a girl, a woman, and ever felt this way. He just wanted to touch her… he needed to.

He knelt aside her again and put his hand on her bare midriff. He wanted to do more, but not while she slept.

"Aralyn," he whispered in her ear. "Wake up, Aralyn."

A groan emitted from deep in her chest and her shoulders rolled back. She tilted her head and looked up at him.

"Hey…" he said.

She screamed, and began throwing her arms at him, punch after punch, and to his surprise with amazing reflexes and speed he didn't know he had in him, he caught them and pinned her at her elbows. She fell silent and was quivering.

"Aralyn, I'm not going to hurt you." Draco warned. "Would you please stop being difficult?" He shook her wrists, but she just stared at him, still looking terrified. He sighed and dropped them, slamming his fist on the arm of the sofa.

"DAMMIT!" He stood up and began pacing behind her, running his hands over his face. "Fuck!" He kicked the leg of the table, and just stood there a moment, until he looked up at her. She was leaning over the back of the couch gawking at him as if he'd gone insane.

"What?" he said.

"I—I just… What's going on?!" She raised her voice suddenly. "Where the hell am I?"

He stood there a moment and took a step towards her.

"No!" she said. "Stay right there. You don't have to be right next to me to tell me. Just—just stay right there, Draco!" She started crying. "Just tell me everything from there."

"Okay, okay…" He said, relaxing a little. "Fine, but hold on a second."

He went into the door on his right and into the bathroom, appearing a few seconds later with a robe. "It's probably a little long, I'm sure, but at least it'll keep you warm until I can get a fire going." He paused. "That is, if you don't mind if I get close enough to give you this and get one started?"

She narrowed her eyes and thought about it, then nodded.

"Thank you," he said. He went back over to that side of the room, handing to her the robe, which she took hesitantly. Then he began tending to the fire, slowly building it to a blaze. He sat down cross-legged in front of it and leaned back on his palms.

"Draco," she said softly after while, he looked over his shoulder to see her wrapped up in the robe like a blanket.

"Yes?"

"Tell me what's going on." She pleaded. "Please,"

He sighed, and turned to face her. "If I didn't come for you, Aralyn, they would have. And I think we both know they wouldn't have been as friendly about it."

"Come for me, why?" she said.

"Because your father… your father and mine had an arrangement."

She just breathed deeply. "It was never a choice, was it?"

"No," Draco replied. "My mother, she was just trying to make it sound like a better situation that it is, Aralyn. That's what she does. She likes to make things easier on people. She was hoping, like everyone else had been, that since we'd met and had become friends that this would be easier on us… That we'd accept it better."

She nodded. "But what do you want Draco?"

He groaned loudly. "I don't know anymore. I know that, logically, I barely know you, and yet… I feel like we've been… friends for years."

"Me too," Aralyn confessed, pulling the robe up around her neck. She slid of the couch and kneeled at his side. "But what about your position with the Death Eaters, Draco. You can't leave them, can you?"

"No, Aralyn. I can't. Especially now." He said, moving closer to her. "I don't want to be the one to tell you this, but…"

She put a finger on his lips. "Not tonight, Draco."

"But, Aralyn…" He pushed her hand away. "This could change everything. It's going to. You need to hear it from me. Or else you're sure to find out tomorrow from someone else."

She looked hesitant, but nodded finally.

"Aralyn," he began. "I know that we don't know much… at all, about one another. But, I really, really feel pulled to you. And… and I just found out that from here on out people are going to have a lot of expectations of me. You're not going to like what it is that they're expecting me to do, but it's something that's been handed to me that I cannot turn down; and not because I don't want to turn it down, or anything. If I could, I would. But I feel better knowing this has been put in my hands, rather than anyone else who could have been an option… And if you're with me, if you were by my side, Aralyn, I would feel much better about who I were if I had a woman like you to come home to."

"Draco… whatever are you talking about?" she said, placing her hand on his cheek. He put his hand on top of it and nuzzled his face into her palm, then pushed her away and stood up, his back to her.

"I just don't know how to say this, Aralyn!" he shouted. He turned around and sighed. She looked just as confused and lost as ever. "I don't want you to hate who I might have to be at times… I don't want you to be scared of me, Aralyn."

"Y—your mother explained this to me already, Draco. I know the ups and downs, I know what comes with being with a De--- with people like you." She looked away from him.

"With people like— ha! If only every other woman who was married to a Death Eater could understand what you would have to go through!"

"And why don't they? What makes it so much more difficult for us than it is for any of them?" She stood up now. "Don't walk away from me, Draco."

He was looking out the window now, his fingernails digging into the sill. He breathed heavily against the glass. But then stopped when he felt her hands on his back. She slowly worked them around to his waist, and buried her head into his back. She barely came halfway up it.

He smiled. She was small. Five feet if she was lucky, and he was six foot already, probably still had an inch or two to go. She was so petite, so frail… His smile disappeared. "Aralyn," he said, turning towards her, and leaning down to rest his chin on the top of her head. "I'm afraid that I'll hurt you."

She looked up at him and shook her head, a smile in the corner of her lips. "I know it seems silly, Draco, but… there's something different about you, you're not the way I've pictured all the others… I don't think you can."

He sighed, but she went on. "I've got a feeling about you, and I'm usually not wrong about these things."

"I know." He said, putting his hands around her lower back. "You're an occulumens. I was told."

"Oh?" the smile grew bigger.

"So, you can, read my mind and all that, right?" He said with a raised eyebrow. She laughed finally.

"Not quite, but I'm getting better. Right now it comes in… vibes. I mean, I can feel people's motives. It's strange."

"And what can you feel about me?" he said, drawing her closer to him.

"You… are a pervert." She laughed. "But… even if you did hurt me, Draco, because I won't lie… I sense you might someday. I know you would never mean to."

"That's alright for you?" he said, raising his voice. "Just because I wouldn't 'mean' to, that makes it okay with you?" He let her go and pushed her away from him. "It's not okay with me."

"Then what am I doing here?!" she demanded, flailing her arms about. "If you don't want to be with me then what is the point?"

"The point is we don't have a choice. They've already set up the plans. We're supposed to marry in a week!"

She went quiet. "That soon?"

"Yes, that soon." He looked at her robe hanging open and quickly looked away. "Which is why I'm fighting all temptation to undress you and have you now, Aralyn. Would you kindly cover yourself better so that we can put that off for the proper time and place?!?"

Her eyes widened and she pulled the robe around her, tying the belt in a tight not. It didn't help for the cleavage though.

"Why so soon?" she asked. "What's their hurry?"

"They need a new leader, a new Dark Lord, and soon. The inauguration is next week, so the wedding is being held the day after, Saturday."

"Why would the inauguration date have anything to do with the date of---" and she froze in terror. Draco looked to her realizing he'd said too much. "Oh my God!" She pointed at him. "Y—y—you stay away from me!" She backed away from him.

"Aralyn. Don't do this. I tried to tell you. You just said that you don't think I'd hurt you. Aralyn, you know I'd never…"

She kept backing away from him, trembling as he walked towards her. Her foot caught on the leg of the bed and she went down. He caught her before she hit the ground. He held her inches from her face, and she looked terrified. She just shook her head.

"Aralyn, please." He pleaded. "It's still me. I promise… It's still me."

"I don't know who you are to begin with, Draco Malfoy. Why should that mean anything to me?"

He set her on the floor with a thud. "I will not play your head games Aralyn. You are either on my side, or you're not. Either way, there is a wedding next week that neither of us are getting out of. Deal with it however you must, but if you're going to be difficult. You can deal with it on your own. I've already accepted it. I'm trying to be here for you, to get you through this, to get US through this dammit! But I won't play your damn games, Aralyn, I won't!"

She just sat on the floor, holding her knees to her chest.

"Now look," he said. "You can either listen to me… trust me… Or you can make this harder in the meantime until you eventually realize that I can be trusted. You're an occulumens, Aralyn. You said it yourself that---"

"What I get from people changes as the circumstances change." She interjected.

"Draco," Aralyn said. "You're going to be the end of me… I can feel it."


	11. Chapter 11

_Eleven_

Anger flared up inside of him. "No!" he shouted. "I would never… I won't hear it!" He shouted at her through her sobs. "Get up! I SAID GET UP."

But Aralyn would not raise her head, just continued to cry with her knees between her chest. Draco reached down, grabbed tightly to her wrist and pulled her to her feet and into his arms. She sobbed and muffled screams came, as he buried her head into his chest. She fought and squirmed against him. He held tighter than ever and dragged her to the bed, got a hand free while managing a tight grip on her and pulled the covers down and threw himself and her into the mattress, where he buried himself ontop of her and held onto her.

"Shh." He hushed her, trying his best to calm her down as he restrained her to him. "Aralyn… Aralyn, please." He continued speaking to her in a low voice, trying his best to soothe her. Finally the screams subsided and she stopped fighting against him, but continued to cry. He held on through the night though and eventually she cried herself to sleep.

Hours passed until she opened her eyes and turned her head up to him. He was staring down at her, eyes red and heavy.

"You didn't sleep at all, did you?" she said more like a statement than a question.

"I wasn't about to fall asleep and let you get away." He muttered, not meeting her eyes.

She scoffed at him. "As if there aren't Death Eaters all over the grounds of this place? I'm not that stupid."

He smirked, still not meeting her gaze.

"Draco… look at me." Aralyn whispered.

He just smiled. "I did enough looking throughout the night. If I do anymore---"

"Draco," she groaned.

Finally, he bore his eyes into her and she took a deep breath. It was like he was staring into her soul. "Aralyn," he declared. "I won't hurt you. I promise."

Aralyn sighed and nuzzled to his chest. "I know… I know that you promise."

He placed his hand firmly under her chin and forcefully tilted it to his face. "Then know that, for you, my promise is always good." He pulled out his wand. "I can make an unbreakable---"

"Don't you dare!" She shoved his wand away. "Don't be a fool, dammit." And she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips softly onto his. He dropped his wand to the floor and let his hands graze her sides at her waist. They moved down to her hips and Draco squeezed firmly, and couldn't resist the temptation to grind them towards his pelvis. A soft moan began to escape Aralyn's lips, and he caught it with a return kiss, forcing of his mouth to hers. He slid his thumbs under the elastic and lace band on her panties and stretched on them a bit. Their heated kisses continued, as he removed his left hand for a moment, placing it on the back of her head, and forcing his tongue further between her lips, flicking it against the roof of her mouth, he found herself biting softly on her bottom lip. Another small moan, and he could taste blood. He didn't even think he had bit so hard. He pulled away and licked his lips slightly as he stared into her eyes.

"I need to taste more of you." He growled. And without anymore warning, he let his other hand slide between her thigh and the crotch of her panties, while she emitted a little yelp, and slid one long finger into her most private of places. He moved her into his lap as she moaned and rocked her back and forth on him, slipping his middle finger in to join in the motion. He smiled deviously as she threw her head back and drew a great breath. He pulled her face to his again and whispered huskily in her ear, "You're ready… you want me, Aralyn. I can feel it…" He slid in and out of her with increased speed.

"No…" she purred. "I need you." She let her mouth trace his jaw line and down his neck, where she bit hard between his collarbone and shoulders.

"Oh damn…" Draco gritted his teeth. "Oh, you're so wet… I wanna… no… oh, oh fuck." He moaned once more as she bit into him again and pulled her off of him, removing his fingers from her and glared at her, meeting her eyes as he slid them into his mouth. She went beet red and turned her head away with a smiled. When he was finished he wrapped his arms around her and sighed. "Just as unsurprising as ever, Aralyn… You taste as sweet as you seem to be."

She let out a soft laugh. He beamed. Her laugh had wings. It rang through every bone in his body. He pulled her back into the covers with him. "More sleep," he declared. And with another ringing laugh, the two ushered themselves into each others embrace and back to sleep.

Narcissa awoke to an unsurprisingly empty bed. No doubt she would go downstairs and find her drunkard husband fallen asleep in his chair in the parlor. No doubt some of the other men would be there, too. She knew she wouldn't be the only of the wives to wake up without their husbands. Her thoughts went to Melinda Goyle, a woman who would never wake up to her husband again. She seemed more free now, though, saddened as she was. It was a weight all the women married to Death Eaters carried, the burden of secrecy, of living with the truth that –their- master was yours too, member or not, and worrying every night when they would put on those masks and cloaks that you would never see them again, but when they do come home, feeling incredibly distraught, caught between happiness to see your husband safe, and the misery and uncertainty that came with wondering what your husband had done that night. _'I must explain this to Aralyn,'_ she thought. _'Nothing will ever prepare her, but she needs to be forewarned.'_

She made her way to the parlor, expecting to see several sleeping bodies, and instead found only two. Her husband and Melinda were on the couch in an embrace, asleep, and their clothes lie on the floor beside them. Her eyes narrowed and she took out her wand and slowly moved towards the two of them, eventually inches away from Lucius' cheek.

"Get up you filthy son-of-a-bitch." She poked his cheek slightly and turned up her face, breathing heavily. He groaned in his sleep. "GET UP." She demanded through gritted teeth.

Lucius blinked his eyes a couple times and they went wide as he gazed from the woman with the wand in his face, to the woman in his arms. "Narcissa, I…"

"No explaining anything, Lucius!" She shouted with a furious stomp of her foot. Her loose tendrils fell out, shaking her hair loose. She looked mad with fury.

Melinda groaned, and began waking up.

Narcissa continued, shoving the wand harder into his cheek. "No more! No more, I say! I will be around for the next week to help out Aralyn and my son, but only for them, and then no more! I am leaving you, Lucius. And it is long overdue. And I swear, if you try to stop me, I will utter that curse quicker than you can---"

"You wouldn't dare," he spat. She pushed the wand harder into his cheek.

"Don't -make- me." Tears welled up in her eyes. She lowered the wand and turned her face away so he wouldn't see. "Get her out of my house Lucius…"

And she headed back upstairs to get dressed. Moments later she knocked on Draco's room. Aralyn answered.

"Aralyn, good morning. Might I come in?"

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy. Draco's just in the shower…" Narcissa came in with a nod and sat on the end of the bed. Aralyn, having dressed and showered before Draco, sat beside her. "Mrs. Malfoy, are you---"

"Please, dear… Narcissa."

Aralyn paused. "Narcissa… are you alright?"

Narcissa looked at her with wide eyes. "What would---"

"Pardon me, I shouldn't pry. You just look like you've had a bit of an upset, that's all." Aralyn looked away, embarrassed. Narcissa tearstained cheeks were impossible to miss though, and her nose was still red.

"Oh, it's alright. Everything's alright."

"Again, my pardon please, but you sound like you're convincing yourself that, not me."

Narcissa just smiled at the intuitive but observant girl. Aralyn was surprised when she took her head in the palm of her hands and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about me, Aralyn. This is your week." Aralyn smiled a little, but didn't look convinced yet. "Girl talk for later, alright?"

Aralyn nodded.

Narcissa stood up and began to walk out then turned, with an obviously faked smile. "I'm glad to see you're up already. We'll be leaving soon. Some of the other women have already arrived. The carriage will be downstairs waiting for you, darling. But, since you're ahead of schedule, go ahead and have something to eat. Help yourself to our stores in the kitchen." Narcissa nodded and bowed slightly. "My ladyship." And turned on her heel and left.

Draco came out of the bathroom, half dressed, just as his mother closed the door. "Was that mum? What did she want?"

"To see that I was ready. The carriage will be leaving soon…"

Draco nodded and muttered a sound of confirmation as he finished putting his clothes on.

She continued. "Guess that means I won't be seeing you for a week, huh?"

"Suppose so." Draco said, still looking down.

"Draco,"

"Hmm?" He played with the buttons on his shirt.

"Is something a matter?"

He breathed in a heavy sigh. "What you said last night… it's still bothering me. But you said what you see changes as circumstances change, right?"

"Yes, most of the time."

"So, our circumstances could change?" He stopped buttoning his shirt now and stared at her desperately.

Truthfully, Aralyn was doubtful. He was becoming the next dark lord. There was no changing that. "They often do change, Draco. The future is never entirely sure, or for sure for that matter."

Draco just nodded. "I understand." He thought back to the nightmare he had glimpsed Aralyn having the night before, but shook it off and continued dressing. Then something came to him. He startled.

"What was wrong with my mother?"

"What?" Aralyn looked at him ajar.

"My mother, you're concerned about her… something's wrong… What was wrong?" Aralyn just stared at him blankly, puzzled.

"How did you…?"

Draco ignored her. "What was she upset about?"

"She wouldn't tell me… said she'd save it for 'girl talk' later." Aralyn half smiled.

"That was an excuse. She's putting it off. She doesn't want to talk about whatever it was…" Draco was concerned now. "She was crying, wasn't she?"

"It looked that way."

'God dammit, father,' Draco gritted his teeth and his grip on the bedrail tightened.

"Draco, I know you didn't overhear us, so how did you---"

"Forget about it okay!" He was losing his temper.

Aralyn stood up. "You don't have to be so, so… well, such an ass!" She bent over and picked up her lone suitcase. "I'm going now. I'll see you… whenever." And she turned.

"Aralyn, wait---!" She dropped her case at her side and turned around, arms crossed. "I'm sorry… it's just, my parents… they don't have the best relationship,"

--- "Noted. I can imagine being married to a Death Eater has---"

"If you'll let me finish…" He said. She stopped. "It has nothing to do with that. My father, he… he…"

"He loses his temper with her, doesn't he?"

"Yes. Among other things…" Draco cringed.

"I could have guessed at that," Aralyn replied. "Your mother seems to really care for him, it must be hard for her."

"It's been happening for years," Draco said. "I think, selfish as it may sound, it's harder for me by now. I hate watching it happen."

Aralyn stared at the ground and nodded.

"Aralyn, I promise that I would never---"

"I know, Draco. You're not him." She took a step towards him and he fled to her, and they met in an embrace, and with a kiss.

"If I ever---" She put her finger to his lips.

"Say no more, love." And she kissed him again, stepping away from him with a soft smile afterwards. "I'll see you Friday, then?"

He nodded to her. She smiled back and turned and walked out the door.

Draco drew a long breath and looked to the window. It was a gray morning. Odd for june. Rain was tapping the glass. He peered into the distance and when he refocused again saw his reflection in the glass. Already he felt less of a boy and more of a man. Everything was changing; everything was going to be very different.

Aralyn arrived at the bottom of the steps, to a hall filled with a handful of women.

"Ahh! Aralyn," Narcissa said, looking very improved from the last time she had seen her. "I would like to introduce you to the ladies."

"At your service, my dear," A stout little woman took a bow. "Alecto Carrow."

"And this is,"

"Melinda Goyle," She also took a slight bow. "Pleased to meet you, ladyship."

And so it went on as the women introduced themselves. Aralyn thought to herself that she would like Tori Crabbe, younger sister of Vincent Crabbe the most. She seemed shy and unsure about her place with the Death Eaters. You could tell she was not overly enthused.

"Well, that's everyone, now let's---"

The doors at the front of the entrance burst open and soaked from the rain a wet figure in black with long curly hair stood holding onto each door. Gasps filled the room.

"YOU'RE FORGETTING ME, CISSY DEAR!" The figure let out a high pitched squeal, took a step forward, letting the doors close behind her and twirled her wand about with her other hand on her hip as the crowd gawked at her with awed expressions and parted for her while she drew nearer. "So… rumor is… that our Lord & Master, en pace requiescat, had a little brat!"

The woman glared at Aralyn with a snarl. She had to easily be the scariest looking woman Aralyn had ever seen. "Doesn't look like much to me…" she declared.

Finally Narcissa shook her head out of her shock-coma and touched the arm of the woman. "Bellatrix… how is this possible?"

The woman, Bellatrix, just smiled in return. "Cissy, are you forgetting? This is me!!" She cackled like a mad woman. "Please… don't underestimate me." She turned her attention to Aralyn again and pointed her wand at her. The woman gasped again, and while Aralyn was terrified she held her ground and stared her in the eyes in return. "You! Tell me about yourself, dearie! I haven't had the pleasure of being filled in on all the details!"

Aralyn took a deep breath and replied. "To be frank, miss… Bellatrix, was it? I don't know them all myself."

Bellatrix let out a laugh and threw her head back. "HA!" And snapped to Narcissa. "You're kidding, right? Who is this girl? This… this… scrawny little mousy thing can't –possibly- be the only heir of our Lord?"

"He isn't our Lord anymore, Bella." Britannia Crabbe spoke up. "Or haven't you heard –that- rumor?"

Bellatrix looked smug and turned to Narcissa. "I suppose your husband has been passed the position?"

"On the contrary, my other beloved, Bella." What was left of any pale coloring in Bellatrix's face drained and she went whiter. "You should be very proud of your nephew."

"Drakey! My little Drakey! The next Dark Lord!" She smiled most deviously. "WONDERFUL!!" She exclaimed, and she began spinning in circles in a dancing sort of fashion, nearly knocking anyone in her path aside. "Wait---" She looked to Aralyn again. "So where do you come in, dearest?" She said the last bit with disdain.

"This, Bella," Narcissa began. "Is his soon-to-be Bride. Aralyn, allow me to introduce, and please forgive me for, my dear deranged and apparently quite resurrected from the grave sister, Bellatrix Lestrange."

(A/N: Betchya didn't see that one coming, didja? Also, I just realized that Vincent Crabbe died in the last book and I've been writing him in. But I guess that happens in fanfictions, I suppose?) R&R, please! Ty. 


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